


Why Hate When You Can Love?

by Afanficman



Series: New Beginings [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Angsty Family, BAMF John, Bro Dave, Caliginous-Flushed Vacillation, Cheating, Clueless Rose, Depression, Drug Use, Drugs, Exiles influence the kids lives, Extended Families, F/F, F/M, Flashbacks, Friendship, High School, Lectures, M/M, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Miscarriage, Multi, Mutant Powers, Not really Mature but it talks about adult topics, Past Relationship(s), Periods, Pregnancy, Protective John, Racism, Some death, Strong Jade, Swearing, Teen Pregnancy, Teenage Pregnancy, Underage Drinking, Unplanned Pregnancy, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-05-07 11:07:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 43
Words: 98,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19208131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Afanficman/pseuds/Afanficman
Summary: The trolls have lost Alternia and all of their territories to an alien invasion and had to escape to a new planet. The remaining trolls are weakened due to being overtaken by an opposing force greater then them. The trolls land on earth where they are greeted with unhappy humans. The trolls don't want a war they can't win, so they make a peace treaty to let the troll live peacefully. Some humans aren't as friendly as others. This is the story of how they adapt to the new world the live in.





	1. The start of a new world

**Author's Note:**

> The troll are going to be a little OC because they are on a tight leash by the human government but they still have their personalities. The POV is going to change between the kids and the trolls at some point. The adults are still there instead of fight other planets and troll are weaker because they weren't influenced by Lord English or Doc Scratch. They are just different looking humans.

It was April 13, 2001 when the Earth's atmosphere was breached by a Unidentified Flying Object carrying a alien species seeking safety from persecution. The UFOs where spotted by the humans the day before the predicted impact date. However asteroids don't look like organic spacecrafts with sharp decor, so the humans were interested in its purpose and prepare a counterattack. The crash site of the alien ships would be a field near Maple Valley, Washington at 11:46 pm . The U.S. military would intercept the alien species when they would arrive to eliminate them if they showed signs of being a threat or at least try to speak with them. The meeting was kept a secret to avoid public madness, and so no conspiracy theorist living in their mother's basement would go on a hour long speech explaining how the government is full of lizard people. No one noticed a larger than small army go to a field in the middle of nowhere, but the ships burning through the atmosphere was highly noticeable. The army was set up and taking aim at the crashed spacecraft when it landed right where the head scientist said it would. Thank god for Ms. Lalonde and her precision in physics and calculations.

The air that flowing tonight was thick with tension, so much so it can be cut with a knife. The spacecraft opened up and a few minutes later grey skinned man with candy corn horns and a large grub like insect in his arms.The man gasped as he saw the soldiers ready to fire at him when the orders of their captain Mr. Harley said so. Another one came out of the ship next to the man and saw the army, however he ran at the troops and was instantly shot before he even got close. The body fell and began leaking cobalt blood as blue as the ocean. The army was about to open fire on the other, but the man holding the insect shouted for it to stop. The soldiers didn't fire due to the shock of learning that the alien spoke the same language as them. Their negotiator Mr. Egbert ran up to the front lines to speak to the alien life form. More of the aliens come out of the spacecraft to see what was happening outside of their view. Both sides had many questions as what is happening. The soldiers saw children and more of those insects come out and freeze upon seeing a body on the group oozing out blood that the soldier had finally noticed wasn't the same scarlet liquid that they had. To the trolls this was a normal occurrence that no one would lose any sleep over but what scared them was the army aiming at them. Had they finally come to their end after escaping the disaster of their home world. They knew there was no surviving if they resorted to their usual ideal of fighting the inhabitants conquering planets. 

Both sides were silent until the negotiator started up again. It took ten minutes of talking to hear their story and for the press to arrive to get their once in a life time scoop. When the reporters did arrive the army handled it as easily as possible because what fool doesn't come up with a fake story when an medium sized army are in a field in the middle of nowhere. The daily news of the morning would be how a meteorite filled with uranium just landed. The higher ups would find a way to tell the population that the story they heard was fake and what really happened was a ship of alien refugees landed seeking asylum. That would go over as well as Watergate went. The aliens species were named trolls for whatever reason, yet the term gremlin fit better for some reason.

It took about a week for the public to get notified about alien situation and they handled it surprising well on the aliens arriving part, but threw a fit the government said they were staying. It took a month for the living arrangements to be made for the new earth inhabitants. However they were heavily suppressed when the news that they used to conquer planets by the dozens and commit mass genocide like it was a yes or no question. Some of the troll refused the idea of living in the world where they aren't higher than anyone else were quickly silenced when the threat of being sent back to space was announced. The trolls didn't cause to much trouble since a majority report they didn't feel trapped by the "empresses' pet" anymore or feel "subjugated to brainwashing to be evil" whatever that meant. Trolls went to school and got jobs, the perfect person to benefit society. That is what was made public, but in truth trolls were looked down upon and were bullied, repressed, and often beaten. To say they were denied any kindness would be incorrect, entire organization made to help troll were made to ensure equality. Many laws were created to benefit and restrict trolls such as banning buckets and refusing government jobs. 

Some of the trolls traditions and customs were adopted into earth society such as 3 out of the 4 quadrants of troll romance and stuff piles for feelings jams. That is has happened, but time to see what will happen in present day.


	2. Culture clash

Today is August 27, 2014. A very special day for the planet Earth and it’s inhabitants. Today marks the first day of Skia High, a school built for both Trolls and Humans alike. As your dad would say “A day to be remembered for the ages.” You’ve have anticipating today for a long time.

Your name is John Egbert and your going to school at the new public outreach program for trolls and humans. Your father and uncle have been preparing for their speeches that they have to give. They practiced all day yesterday. You just hope your dad doesn’t bake a cake like he does for every occasion when it’s over. Right now you are getting dressed, but your friends have been texting you ever since you woke up. Dave has been messaging you about what classes you have together and how his bro’s music is the best. He will no doubt be labeled the class clown on the first day for ironic reasons. Jade is just excited to go school for the first time since kindergarten. She has been homeschooled for the majority of her life. You have no doubt Rose is already downstairs eating breakfast, and practicing her introductions fo today. She likes to always be prepared to make political negotiations wherever she goes.

You go downstairs to eat breakfast like you do every morning with your family. Your dad cooks when he’s stressed, so today you have a T.V. breakfast spread that is just way to much for any average household to eat. Your stepmom is trying to get your dad to relax, but to no avail. Your uncle is at the table going over his speech and planning city districts. He isn’t really your uncle but he is like family. He is the mayor of your city, and a close family friend who you hangout with. He has been voted in so many times because of his approval of both the trolls and humans. His name is William Val but he prefers WV. Your stepsister Rose is just eating her pancakes with a cup of that special earl grey tea she buys. The both of you would never have expected that your parents would get back into the dating scene, let alone get remarried. It was a shock at first, but later on you could see they were perfect for each other.

You eat your pancakes and eggs and get the rest of your stuff ready. You pack your school utensils and a joke book for material. Your nana would be proud to see the young comedian you’ve become. May she rest in that urn you keep in your dad’s study because it just kept getting knocked over. You are ready to go, but your dad is currently being kissed goodbye by your stepmom. Rose is trying not to look annoyed but you know she is glad her mom finally found that special someone. The drive to the school was a quick and easy. You get off with Rose, your dad, and uncle and enter through the front. You all enter the gymnasium for orientation and the speeches. You spot Dave sitting in the second row with Jade.

“Hey, are you ready for school?” Dave looked at you and said “Yeah, I’m ready to be put into a building meant to keep young children away from their homes for eight hours everyday.” Rose without batting an eye said “Dave it’s more of an mental intuition meant to form the minds of the new generation into the productive members of society.” Jade said “I thought it would be a place where we could learn and make friends.” You all end up talking for another 15 minutes before the seminar begins. Your dad and uncle both go up and give their speeches to the students, staff, and press. The school counselor Wanda Queen or WQ decides to split up your class into two groups Derse and Prospit. You and Jade get put into Prospit while Rose and Dave are put into Derse. You go to your classes and meet some of your fellow students. You meet meet both humans and trolls in your class.

As the day continues you get to meet some of the such as Karkat Vantas, Tavros Nitram, Kanaya Maryam, Terezi Pyrope, Vriska Serket, and Gamzee Makara. Karkat is very passionate guy who is grumpy. He sounds like you just insulted his whole family. Tavros is shy and handicapped. He didn’t seem like he enjoyed being bothered. Kanaya is prom and proper. She reminds you of Rose. Terezi is blind and weird. She said she smell you and you smelled like a idiot. Vriska was confident and snarky. She called Tavros a dork and ignored you. Gamzee was calm and friendly. He looked somewhat profession and gave you all his attention.

The day ended well despite some of the rude people you’ve just met. You want to ask Rose how her day went, but something is bothering her right now. You go to the parking lot where your dad is parked for you and Rose. He has spent most of the day going over political business over the school since he is in charge of the Troll side of society. He is fair and doesn’t discriminate against anyone unless they prove themselves unworthy of his respect. You have heard about some of the discrimination against Trollkind. You don’t see your uncle anywhere, but he is probably doing some important mayor duties. You all head home where your stepmother welcomes you back with a hug and dinner. You wonder what tomorrow has to offer.

Will it be good? Will it be bad? We may never know until the day is upon us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The trolls are mainly the same except Gamzee because he is no longer on soper or bad. He is just a calm and collected friend to everyone.


	3. All is acceptable in hate and classroom battles

It’s been a week since the school year has started and the classes have been easy so far. You have been the pride and joy of your father for as long as you could remember. He always made time to teach you whenever you were falling behind on any academic challenges. You have also taken pride in your work so you always stay in the top ten percent of class. Biology has always been your strong suit since you were a kid. You are what schools call the star child because you are well rounded all aspects of school. This has brought you a great many things in your life, but the one thing you didn’t expect was the ire of a classmate. Terezi Pyrope has been challenging you to do better and has been teasing you for sometime. It all began on the third day of school when you were having lunch with your friends. Jade had made friends with a bubbly sea dweller troll named Feferi Pixces a student from the Derse side of Class.

She had talked about how amazing it was to be able to go to school and make human friends. You asked her if she has had any experience with human culture during the time. She talked about going to school at one of the many troll only schools where things weren’t the best. Then some of her other friends joined your table such as Aradia Megdio and Sollux Captor. If was fun to talk to them and get to know them all. It wasn’t until Vriska and Terezi showed up where things got messy. Vriska went on here daily ritual and bullied poor Tavros about his disability and self esteem issues. Your father has taught you a great many things that make a man a man such as protecting the weak. You told Vriska to stop picking on Tavros about the things he could not control and to stop degrading him to trash. Jade, Aradia, and Dave backed you up on the issue. Vriska then started spouting out the old Alternian saying of the hemospectrum. You countered with one of the many speeches about equality you’ve heard from WV. You think you could hear WV shed a tear knowing you listened and perform one of his speeches. 

Vriska didn’t like that you challenged her so she made a deal with you. If you won a game of luck she would stop bothering Tavros, but if she won you had to be her servant. You agreed to her challenge but you knew she wasn’t a woman of honor from the looks of utter horror from troll classmates . She pulled out a set of dice from her jacket pocket and gave them to you. What she didn’t know was you were a master entertainer who could make jokes and do magic. Illusions to be exact. A quick shake of the dice and you could tell they were loaded. You called her out and pulled your very own set of dice. She looked both annoyed from you calling her trick and impressed you figured it out. You still played won the bet even if Vriska has all the luck in her possession. She was left speechless and you noticed a great many saw you as a hero and others as a dead man. All except one who saw you as a challenge to be beaten. 

That is how you gained Terezi’s eye on you looking for any insecurities she could point out. She found them and used them, but you aren’t one to crumpled due to being made fun of. It lead to many challenges from her to knock you down a peg. That is what leads us to today. Today is the class battle which is a day where two teams from the same class go against each other. You can choose teams in the beginning of the match for the duration of the day. You teamed up with Jade, Karkat, and Kanaya with some other students. The rest joined the other team. It was a long and hard day of going over testing and classroom material to be able to be ready. At the end of the day it was time to battle the other side. To say you won would be a lie, you lost due to the other side heckling you to get the wrong answers and a small fight broke out between Karkat and another student. 

Your side lost the battle and the other side just reminded you of it every single time they could. The day ended and you went home. The next day Terezi taunted you for the first two class periods. It was a little out of the ordinary that someone could hate you so much so. You decided to ask Feferi why does Terezi hate you so much, so the look on Feferi’s face made you wonder what could it be. Since trolls also live on earth there are classes that talk about the culture of trolls. That is where you learned that hate is a form of love to trolls. When you went home for the day you thought it over in your head. If she liked, no wait hated you that way it would be something. So when you woke up you got everything ready for the day and prepared to confront Terezi about her feelings. You found her licking her red glasses that she always wears, and for the first time you see Terezi she isn’t that bad. Until she realizes you are close by that is then she is a unruly gremlin who is slightly taller than you. It’s about one inch but it’s the inch she needs to make fun of you.

She turns to look at you and she says “What are you looking at Egdork. You finally realize I am better than you and you wish to gaze upon my superiority. Well what is it?” You take a minute to collect your thoughts “I just wanted to ask you if you think.” “ Think what Egberp?”she said. You say“If you think I’ll be your kismesis.” She looks at you like you just say the most idiotic thing ever “Why would you ever think I would want you to be my Kismesis” You respond with “Your always picking on me an calling me names, so I thought that is what you wanted.” She looks confused to the point of the question being impossible to be able be solved. “I don’t think it could work out if you and I were kismesises.” You ask why. “It’s because your a stupid and whimpering weeny. I have a reputation to uphold.”

Your not sure what you were expecting but it sure as hell wasn't this. “Oh, thank god. I didn’t know how this weird alien hate love thing works, but at least I know I don’t have to be a part of it. At least not with you. You look like a fed gremlin jumped into a vat of grey face paint and thought it was fashionable.” She looks you dead in the eye and saws “Flattery isn’t going to change my mind about this.” You respond with “What makes you think I want to change your mind. I just don’t like you in that way. It’s not compatible with my human culture so I don’t need to use it.” She is shocked but isn’t fully showing it. “You know what yeah. You will be my kismesis.” “But, I said I didn’t want to be a part of your weird alien hate love thing” “How about a coin flip” “Ok. Heads” She gives you a devious look as the coin flips “The coin only has one side. Tails.” “This is the worst day of your life.”

Today your father invited Dave, his brother and Jade, her grandpa, and WV to eat at your house. At dinner your father asks about your day at school. You turn to him and say “Not much. I studied biology and physics. I signed up for boxing club like you did in high school. I got a girlfriend.” Everyone at the table takes a second to let the information sink in. Dave is the first one to talk “Like an actual girl asked you out?” You reply “No, I asked her.” Jade smiles “Awaa, do we know her?” Your stepmother speaks then “We should hope so.” Rose pipes up “How long have you been courting this young mystery girl?” John speaks “Since the beginning of the year.” Dave grins ear to ear “You managed to hid a little lady from bro!” John’s face is getting more tired from the questions “Yep.” John’s day finally asks “What’s the girl’s name?” John whispers the name. Jade’s grandfather speaks “I’m sorry we couldn’t hear you my boy” John sighs and says it again “Terezi Pyrope.” Everyone at once exclaims “What?” Jade is the first to ask “Your currently dating Terezi Pyrope.” John nods and Rose is next to ask “You asked Terezi out.” John says “We’re kismesises.” Dave’s bro who has yet to ask any question does the expected and questions “Your hate dating a troll girl who Dave says is evil incarnate. How did that even work out” John shrugs

WV walks through the door late because he was busy at town hall. “What did I miss” John tells him everything. WV responds “You are currently in a kismesistude with a teal blooded, shark toothed, dangerous troll girl.” Everything is quiet until Dave high fives John “You did it John. You crazy motherf####r, you did it.”


	4. Rose’s questions

The morning after last nights dinner party was at best awkward. Everyone was silent after you all questioned John about his new love affair with a certain troll girl named Terezi Pyrope. He sounded very worn out after WV had gave him a talk about the trolls and people of the opposite gender. 

Your name is Rose Lalonde and you have questions that you need answered. You pride yourself on knowing everything before everyone else. You have to be Abel to analyze and give your own opinion on every aspect in your life. You were awake all night mulling over the information you’ve have heard such as the feelings of hate have been there since the beginning and he ask her out. By the time the morning comes around you get dressed in your favorite lavender blouse and blue jeans and run downstairs. Upon entering the kitchen you see your stepfather Joel Egbert cooking breakfast. He has the nervous trait of cooking when he is stressed out. It makes sense for him to be stressed out but at this point it’s insanity because you have enough for a small army. He doesn’t see you until you cough and gain his attention. 

When he does notice you he stops cooking for the time being. “Hey, Rose did you sleep well last night because I sure didn’t get any.” “I got some sleep, but I worried about how John will deal with this new experience.” “I don’t doubt John can handle himself. He has handled himself in the past.” John enters the kitchen with your mother in tow. “Is my dating life really the interesting to you guys.” You start to ask the many questions you prepared for him last night “Are you two private or public? Do you plan to take her out to dinner or take her out to box? Do you know how to deal with a kismesis?” John answers all your questions as follows “I don’t know what we are. I’m planning on a special kind of date night. And I know about what kismesises are.” You are going to ask more people when you get to school. You have no doubt Dave or Jade is going to ambush you when yo arrive.

By the time you get to school your guess is proved to be correct. Jade pretty much chases You and John down like a police dog. It’s not a bad comparison because Jade is a furry and she has said she wishes she was a dog. You don’t judge her because what kind of friend would you be if you did. She asks John if he plans on talking to Terezi today before class begins, but you don’t get to hear his answer. You immediately leave to go to class and talk to a certain troll. Upon entering class you spot both Nepeta Leijon and Equius Zahhak. They are the picture definition of a perfect Moirallegiance. Nepeta is a “relationship manger of troll romance.” You ask her “May I bother you for some of your time Nepeta. I need some information about troll romance and norms. A kismesistude to be exact.” Nepeta grins and says “Anything fur you Rose. A kismesistude is one of the four romances called quadrants of troll life. A kismesis is someone you hate but also admire. May I ask why you wanted this.” You plan on keeping the knowledge of John and Terezi in a relationship to yourself. That is until Dave opens his mouth “Our friend is dating Terezi.” Both Nepeta and Equius are shocked at the news, but it isn’t until they connect the dots that they are truly flabbergasted. 

By the time lunch comes around everyone in the school knows about the hate affair between John and Terezi. Humans and Trolls alive crowd around them bombarding them with questions. You see a familiar jade blooded troll walking towards you to speak. She pulls you away to a corner so you could talk in peace. “I’m Kanaya Maryam and I want to ask you about your friend John and give you some advice.” You look at her and you respond “I’m his stepsister. He is nice and very caring if you’re concerned about Terezi.” She looks at you with pity and says “I’m not worried about Terezi. She will chew out John and spit him out within the day if he is as nice as you say he is.” You take her advice to heart but before you can talk you spot John and Terezi arguing. They are having a insult battle and that would mean the end of a relationship, but this trolls your talking about. It is only getting fueling the relationship on.

John and Terezi argued for five minutes and some how established a date on Saturday. You and Kanaya at aw at how well John handled the entire situation. You should congratulate John on a job well done. Maybe tomorrow he looks busy due to the other students staring at him.


	5. A hate date done right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is where John and Terezi have their first hate date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The trolls have all the disabilities they had before the game but it’s tied to their escape of Alternia. Terezi lost her sight in an explosion, Vriska lost her eye and arm to debris, and Tavros got crippled by a collapsed building. Equius did replace the limbs for Vriska and Tavros but Terezi learned he blind senses from another troll. The kids didn’t get chuckle voodooed by Gamzee. They are free from the control of Lord English and his band of evildoers. That doesn’t mean the won’t make an appearance as humans who hate trolls.

Today is September 14, 2014. Today is the day for your first date with the infamous Terezi Pyrope. She is quite the troll based on some of the accounts of her chapter from others. She is wild, manipulative, and cunning so you’ll have to move carefully if you want this to go right like you planned. The first date is the key point of knowing if they are eligible for a second. Your mother told you when you younger that she knew your dad was the one on their first date. Your stepmother knew on the third date but that’s because your father was out of the dating game for forever. Nonetheless, you want to show you can full of surprises and are very good at getting the job done.

You prepared for today by collecting information about Terezi. You asked what she likes, what she doesn’t like, and some advice about her. You are a natural born master prankster, so not preparing your attack would bring dishonor to your jokester heritage. Your great grandfather Colonel Sassacre would roll in his confetti cannon trapped grave if he knew you didn’t plan a prank on one of the most important days of your young adult life. From the people you collect you found out she is blind but can smell everything about the world around her. She likes to be the first one to insult anyone before another. She also licks every like if she was a dog who had a tongue that was too long. She will no doubt try to one up you at every given opportunity she has. You’ll have to play the kind and naive idiot that people think you are. You are sometimes naive and stupid, but not when their is a major prank on the line.

You arrive at the shared troll apartment complex in the troll district in your dad’s car at 3:30 pm. You hate that trolls are put into these wards of the city by themselves. You’re glad your dad is bringing both trolls and humans together as one unified population. Not like those bigots that choose to separate them and confide them in these troll only areas. You have to stop yourself from going to far into the politics of troll and human public relations. You can do that with your uncle WV later. You walk up to the main waiting room and look for Terezi’s apartment. Before you can get to the directory where everyone’s apartment number is you see Feferi. “Feferi do you know which apartment Terezi has?” She looks you up and down “Aren’t you and Terezi going on a hate date today?” She is probably committing on your attire. You are dressed in a bright violet suit and tie. “Yeah, we’re going on a picnic at the park. I need to know which apartment Terezi’s is because she didn’t give me her number or any contact info whatsoever.” She sees your point but is still unsure. “Here’s her number and pesterchum handle, so you can talk to her. Before you go can you try not to let Terezi force you into anything.” You nod to her and give her your best I understand look. You are about to contact Terezi on pesterchum, but you do she comes outside the elevator. 

You look at her and notice she is wearing the same clothes as she did the day you guys started the relationship. She looks nice is the jeans and black blouse with teal highlights. She notices you in a suit and her face snaps into a grin. “Hey, John you now this is a hate date right. Didn’t forget that crucial piece of information like the idiot you are.” You make you best surprised face “No, didn’t forget that this is a hate date. I am a gentleman and have come to pick you up in my best attire.” You heard she is disgusted by the color violet so you made sure to buy the most flashiest, most cheap, and most saturated violet suit you could. You take her to the car and drive off to the park with the picnic basket drowned in poppy oil to mask the contents inside. You decide to make light conversation to keep her entertained and away from the basket.

By the time the both of you get to the park and set up your blanket on the ground she jumps onto the basket to start ravishing it. You pull it away from before she could open. “Are you seriously that hungry Terezi? Did you not eat something before you came downstairs?” She looks at you with her burnt red eyes and says “I was expecting you to feed me. You are a big weeny pushover so I know you have food.” You want to fight her for insulting you and expecting to be given someone in return for it. You open the basket and pull out two ice cold grape faygos and a bowl of salad. You see Terezi’s face grimace. You can only smile and say “I ask what your favorites are and bought these just for today.” Terezi pushes the food and drinks back towards you and you know you won, but why not go further. “You don’t like this. Well now you know I’m so much of a pushover for you to step on.” She says “Screw you John!” You quickly retort with “At least eat the lunch I bought before we start this kind of conversations.” She looks surprised and proud at the same time. Just like when you beat Vriska at her game of dice. “You surprised me John. Here I thought you were some human who I could mess with until I got bored, but clearly know how to treat a kismesis. Don’t think you won just yet John.” You smile knowing she will get you back for today, but for the time being you beat her.

You finish the picnic hate date and get back in the car to take Terezi back home. Before you start the car you see rose has texted you. (John how did the date with Terezi go.)(Dad and mom says they wished you enjoyed yourself.) Dave also texted you. (Hey John you and Rezi finally decided to get married and have crazy genetic mutated offspring.) You cringe at Dave’s message and quickly drive Terezi home to her apartment. You arrive at the entrance of the shared apartment building where you wish Terezi a good afternoon. You see Feferi, Nepeta, Karkat, and Kanaya in the front. You wave at them and are about to leave when Terezi pulls you close and kisses your jaw. Everyone is staring at you and Terezi sharing a moment of passion in the front entrance of the apartment complex. When Terezi is done making out with you face she books it into the waiting room. You are shocked and end up staying as still as a statue. You look like Equius can make you cyborg based on how paralyzed you are right now. You head back home after waiting five minutes like a moron.

When you do enter your house you see Dave and Jade looking at Rose’s phone. They are paying attention to the door when you enter, so you decide to join them. You see Kanaya has been texting Rose and vise versa about your date. It looks like she hasn’t mentioned the kiss you received at the end of the date. Your dad enters the living room and spots you by the time the others notice you. You tell him it went great until he mentions a hicky on your face with a bite mark. You don’t understand him until you connect the dots. When dinner time comes you tell them about the whole date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been writing the chapters quickly because I’ll be busy. It will probably be a while until I get back.


	6. A father’s worry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mainly filler about Joel(John’s dad) and John. Going into what has happened in the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first of many sad filler chapters.

Your name is Joel Egbert. You heard the front door to your house open and close. You know it’s your son John back from his picnic date with his girlfriend. You were understandably worried like any good parent should be when their kid goes into something unexpected. You’ve spent most of your day worrying about him and how well he did. John has had several girlfriends in the past, but not none who were trolls or interested in hate dating. Trolls and Humans dating let alone be in a kismesistude is a unheard of topic. You wondered if he was being attacked by her while he was away. All of your emotions go away when you see him. He looks the same. The same cheap violet suit that he got at the department store without a single scratch. He doesn’t look hurt physically in anyway possible. Your worrying has been for nothing. You are about to congratulate him for his first troll hate date. Which is one of the many major milestones of his young dating life when you notice he has a hicky. 

“Johnathan, what happened?” John answers calmly “Terezi and I went to the park near the troll district and had a picnic. I then took her back to her home like any regular date date. She kissed me unexpectedly at the end, but that’s it.” You know he is speaking the truth. You point out the marking on his neck. “Looks like kissing isn’t all she did!” says Dave. You know trolls are territorial, so her giving John a love mark isn’t out of the picture. To humans however, that is something that is taboo and meant for serious lovers. John runs straight into the bathroom to look in the mirror for the marking. John looks at his reflection and screams “AAAAAAA! You win this round Terezi.” The new school may become a war zone when those two are done. They seem to be the definition of what a kismesistude should be.

You know their relationship will be under a spotlight because of your job. Being one of the first people to make peace with the trolls when they arrived you were given a position of authority in the new administration. It was terrifying at first because you were only 27 years old. You had started out pretty high on the career ladder because of of your both your parent’s influence. Your dad was rich and donated to the government. Your mother pulled a bunch of strings and you got the job immediately. For an old baker housewife your mother was a skilled politician with a lot of influence. You were doing paperwork when you got the message that you would be assigned as a negotiator for the anticipated meeting. After the ships crashed and you secured the trolls to a safer location you began the cohabitation dissuasion. It took a while until it was decided that trolls would get their own city district. You planned on everyone living in there same area but you were outvoted. It may have been a defeat for you, but at least the bigots who wanted them locked up like animals didn’t win. You met up with an old friend from your childhood by the name of WV. Together the both of you made life much more easier for both sides. However it wasn’t easy for you or your family.

You texted you wife Mary that you would be late and would have something to do when the ships arrived. She knew you were hard at work when you didn’t get until later in the night. You met when you went to a college frat party. She was nicknamed “Mary Jane” because she was the go to person for information about weed. She was a nice, smart, and cute Italian girl. You asked her out the second you found her again the next day. She playfully accepted your offer by joking around with you. You dated her for about four years while in college. Her family was great and ver supportive of her dream of being a doctor. She was everything you wanted in a woman and more, so you proposed when you were 21 years old. When you took her out to dinner at her favorite restaurant you made sure she knew she was special. When you got back home you got on one knee and gave her the ring in private. She leaned over to your ear and said “Took you long enough Joel.” The wedding was perfect for the both of you. The honeymoon was great until some drunk guy tried flirting with Mary. He almost grabbed her when she turned him down, but you were there to stop it. You told the guy to back off because she was your wife. He didn’t back down in the slightest, so you held him back until you were forced to knock him out. A few months later she told you she was pregnant with John. 

When John was born it was very windy and cloudy. John was about five years old at time of the arrival and already being a master prankster. He would have made your mother proud if she was still alive. John was always smart and crafty like his nana with his pranks. You see him as your newborn baby when you look at him in his mother’s arms even if he was seven years old. Mary was pregnant again however this time with twins. John would have a pair siblings to grow up with. Everything was perfect until one day everything fell a part. Mary, John, and you were going to her parents house for a family get together when a drunk driver crashed into you. You and John were a little dinged up from the impact, but Mary was unconscious. When help had arrived it was too late to save the unborn children. Mary was in critical condition, but she wanted to say a few words to you and John before she passed. She told John that she loved him and told you to take care of him. As god is your witness you will honor that promise to take care of him.

Everyone in the family showed up to the funeral to bury her and the babies and comfort you and John. You and John weren’t the same people for sometime after the funeral. You were depressed because it was a lot to take into consideration. John was the only family you had left in the world. You lost your wife of 8 years and two children you never had the chance to know. John was a bright and very social boy, but after Mary died he became antisocial and depressed. It took about two years until life returned to the both of you. You found love again in Roxanne. You both decided to try dating again when your children wanted you to be happy. John became happy again when he met his friends Rose, Jade, and Dave. He was back to being the shining ray of sunshine he was born to be. You know he will be the best he can be. He will be the man you raised him to be without a doubt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I headcannon John as a bit Italian and white. I will put some fluff in here later for all you fluff readers.


	7. A day of misfortune

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Roxanne-Roxy  
> Derick-Dirk  
> Jacob-Jake

**John**

Today is Monday September 16, 2014. Today you go back to school from the weekend. You are going  to wake up early today. You need to apply some foundation your step mom bought to hide the love mark Terezi gave after your date. It will give people the wrong impression if they see a hicky on your neck. Thank god your step mother Roxy got you the waterproof foundation because you have boxing practice after school. You undress from your sleeping attire and get on your regular clothes. As you look in the mirror you notice you are pretty well built, but your clothes hide your muscles and your glasses do make you look like a dork. You continue to get dressed and go down stairs for breakfast. You go to your dads office before you go to the kitchen to you school bag. You see your black bag on the acoustic piano in the room. You remember practicing with your mother on the piano all night for the school recital in elementary school. You stop yourself from reliving her death and her final words. You leave the room and to get some food.

Upon entering the kitchen you see you dad cooking eggs and bacon. This time without the  whole mass production of baked goods. You help out your dad by setting up the table for everyone. The coffee, juice, jams, and other assorted items used for sustenance. You know your uncle is going to come over because he has a meeting to attend with your father later on in the day. Some trolls have decided to make a factory that produce baby clothes for trolls. For some reason trolls have decided to dress grubs in clothes like their dolls. To you it’s pointless because the last time you saw a troll grub was in a commercial about cohabitation eight years ago. Nonetheless it’s important for cultural reasons. WV should arrive for breakfast in a few minutes. You finish preparing the table for everyone by the time everyone comes to get breakfast. 

WV gives you more guidance on how to form a democratic group and the ideals of social reform and rights. He is someone you look up to because he enforces his ideal to those who will listen. He also talks about how he has a date with a communications director Penny Messenger or PM. It’s about time he found someone to spend him time with. Now he can go on dates instead of playing with his replica of the city.

 You all eat your breakfast and go to where you are all needed. The drive to school you wonder if anyone will question you about the date. When you do arrive you see Dave and immediately go talk to him. You plan to hang out with him after school. Today you also plan on ambushing Terezi to get a little pay back for Saturday. You see her leaning on her locker like it’s her lifeline. 

> * * *

**Terezi**

Today is going to be bad. You woke up to both Ramona the rust blooded troll you room with arguing with Vriska your other roommate. The noise wouldn’t have woke you up if you still had a recupicoon, but sopor slime ran out twelve years ago. The a.c. also blew out in your room so you’re covered in sweat because of your naturally low body temperature. You should take a shower before everyone else wakes for the day. You get up and pack some clothes and soap for the shower room. As your walking you think communal apartments aren’t so bad as long as you stay out of trouble. When you arrive the shower room is filled other trolls taking showers and a line is there, but at least it’s short. It takes a while for you to get your turn in the shower. The cool water hits syour face and you begin to feel more clean. You wash up and do all the other hygienic activities such as brushing your teeth, putting on deodorant, and combing your hair. You don’t really need to comb your hair because it’s very short and unruly. 

You are heading back to your room when a purple blood hits you on the way out of their room. You land on the floor with your ass and a bloody nose. She don’t even try to apologize to you. You are now completely blind to the entire world around you because you can no longer smell. You managed to stumble your way back to your room. You clean your nose up and stop the bleeding so you could put on your school clothes and pull out your dragon cane. At least Vriska and Ramona stoped yelling at each other. You then head over to the big cafeteria at the first floor to get breakfast. Breakfast is a terrible slop that is just like your day. You eat none the less. You wait for the bus that takes you to and from school to come over. When that long yellow van arrives everyone quickly gets on. You get pushed again but this time people see you and don’t help you. You would have gotten help from your friends, but they couldn’t see you outside the bus since you got separated.

You get to the school building and immediately get to your locker. You just hope it can’t get any worse than it already is. However just by you thinking it couldn’t get worse it goes up a level of how worse it could be. You notice you left all your school supplies and lunch money in your room. Despair quickly comes to you as breath the air around you. You can’t smell John who is standing right behind you ready to surprise you. He moves to put a hand on your shoulder to alert you of his presence, but to decide to take a swing thinking it’s an troll trying to harass you. John just dodges your arm and you end up hitting a locker thus hurting your hand. You want to cry on how bad it hurts because the locker is just made out of steel and you swung your arm pretty hard. However you have a reputation to uphold so you don’t. “Vriska, why are you bothering me at a time like this?” You clutch your arm to your side to not seem weak. “Wow Terezi you sure know how to talk to your kismesis and put lockers in their place.” Upon realizing its John in front of you instead of Vriska or any other troll you try to project a aura of confidence and strength. “John, why are you bothering a girl in front of her locker when she is having a bad day? Do you enjoy bringing utter disappointment to me?” “I would have to be so annoying if you would stop hiding like your some magical creatures.”

You believe he will leave you alone for the rest of the day, but you are wrong. He goes to grab onto your shoulders to anchor you down. Is he trying to kiss you right now. You attempt to hit  him with your head and push him away, but instead you fall face first into to ground when he lets go. Now your arm and nose hurt very badly. You don’t want to get at all from were you are currently flat on the floor. John speaks up “Why did you just try to ram into me. I notice your nose looks bruised and you try to bump into me.” What John does next doesn’t surprise you in the slightest. He helps you back up and listens to you rant about your day. “Do you need help right now.” You respond angrily, “Do I look like I need help from you John!” John just say, “You like a lost child who can’t walk straight and it’s honestly making me feel sad for you.” You know he wants to help you out because he was raised that way. You whisper to him “Fine!”

You followed John around all day so you could receive his help. You were almost entirely reliant on him for everything. You had to go all day like you were John pathetic matesprite who couldn’t do anything herself. He had to feed you because you couldn’t find the sandwich he had packed. Thank whatever higher being exists that braille is a thing. Otherwise you would need him to also do your work. Overall today was the day your ego took a nosedive into its certain death. When it finally ended you thanked John because if you didn’t you think you would have to ask another person for help. At least he will help you and not make fun of you the entire time.

You took the bus back to the apartments and went to your room. You just threw yourself onto the bed  and fell into a bad mood. John has just become the head of the relationship and there is nothing you can do to get that position back. Unless you play dirty which will probably end badly for you if John does the same. You hope tomorrow will be different so to avoid a more tarnished reputation. 


	8. When stuff hit the fan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> L.E. and his minions are introduced in this chapter. They aren’t the universal ending mega powerful beings, but are still technically evil. Bro and AR are also introduced.

**John**

It’s September 23, 2014 today. A whole week has passed of helping out Terezi. It was cute seeing her trying to hide her embarrassment of being reliant on you. Whenever someone came up to ask Terezi something she always pretended you didn’t exist, so you decided to move away from her and let her try to find you. She was to prideful to ask anyone else for help getting around. It was fun while it lasted. Now her nose is back to its original state ~~~~~~~~of sniffing everything within its close proximity. You can no longer creep behind her at school anymore. You had arrived at school when Terezi had decided to smack you with her cane. “Hello, egdork. Did you miss me over the weekend?” You try to answer her but she bites your lower lip when she leans into you. You just go with it and kiss her on her strangely soft and supple lips. The scene you two are making would put Karkat’s shitty romance novels to shame. For a guy who sounds like he is at war with everyone he is pretty finicky about his romance novels.

Terezi is the first to separate from your make out hug. Whatever it is you two split up and go in different directions. You think you Dave talking to his brother Dirk about something. “Bro stop trying to sell your new line  of smuppets toys on my website.” You will never understand why Dirk does the things he does ever. He works as a I.T. office as a programmer, DJs at nightclubs, and sells puppets that are adult toys on Dave’s webcomic site. For all intents and purposes only the first two are his actual jobs. “Dave, most of your fans are people who buy my merchandise.” You decide to walk past them. Last thing you need is to be in a battle of who could do something more ironically. The last time you did interfere with them you were married to Dave in 3rd grade. He proposed by giving you a plastic ring that he got from a coin machine. The marriage lasted only two weeks, so you had split custody of your adopted child Casey with him. The divorce was messy because you told Dave you weren’t a homosexual. Casey was a good daughter until she ran away because you forgot to close her lid. Dave yelled at you for losing his only ray of sunshine in his post divorce state. He also filed to get alimony because he needed to fund his hobbies of collecting dead things and drinking apple juice. He sold the plastic rings to another kid to jumpstart the school economic flow. Luckily he only got five dollars because Rose was your lawyer. 

You snap back into reality. That was the past and you need to pay attention to the present situation. Rose and Kanaya are next to each other flirting. It’s very light hearted right now but the way those two are going they might just start dating. The bell rings for the beginning of the school day. Class begins as usual like it does every other day except Karkat decides to sit next to you. “Hey, John can we talk for a minute?” You’re skeptical but your friendship mode gets the better of you. “Sure, what do you needing Karkat.” He stands a bit straighter and responds with “Well I came over to ask you if Rose a good person. She has been hanging out closely with my morail Kanaya. I want to make sure she doesn’t get her blood pusher broken.” It is at this moment you know you have to be Rose’s wingman. “Yeah, she is great. I would say she is the most caring person I know in a serious kind of way.” You see Karkat loosen up when you say that. “Good. Kanaya deserves someone special for all she does for us.” 

After you talk with Karkat about how awesome Rose is the teacher starts the lesson. You learn  algebraic equations and more information about troll and human culture. When chemistry class begins you answer all the questions on the work assignment quickly. Lunch time is supposed to be peaceful, but unfortunately Vriska doesn’t get the memo. Her and some guy from the derse class get into a fight.

****

* * *

**Karkat**

Your day began much better than it usually does. Your three roommates don’t bother you at all. Sollux, Tavros, and a olive blooded troll are still asleep in the beds. The room is quiet and covered in shade. You go take care of all your hygiene needs in the restroom across the hall from your room. You finish up and get everything else ready for the day. Your mood hits the metaphorical crapper when you bump into Eridan. He ambushes you and tells you about his relationship troubles like it’s a simple hello. For a violet blood he is extremely pathetic at talking to people. You almost pity the poor fool, but you know he will take that as a relationship advancement. You just ignore him all the way back to your room. Sollux will most likely deal with him when he wakes up. You go get breakfast and get in line for the transportation to the school.

You get on the yellow deathtrap called a bus to get to the prison you call school. The school isn’t bad it’s just annoying having to deal with so many people. You walk around trying to find Kanaya to ask her to help you with your classes for today. You quickly spot John and Terezi making out in front of the school. Their kismesistude started out well until it began vacillating to matesprites. To say you expected this turnout would be a lie. You expected Terezi to have her fun and abandon John, but instead this happened. You wonder if their relationship will work out for the best because John is a sweet guy. You do end up finding Kanaya when you were walking around on your search. You find her talking to that girl John always hangs out with Rose. They seem to be engaged in a battle of who can say the most charming phrases. It looks like everyone you know is finding someone else to be in a relationship with. You walk away but quickly bump into Dave Strider. “Hey there KitKat. Couldn’t hold yourself back long enough to talk to me so you run into me.” He is a insufferable prick that has an ego that rivals Vriska’s. Yet he isn’t as bad a that blue blooded spider bitch.

You can barely stand to listen to him talk about whatever has his attention right now. You are thank the morning bell saves you at this moment. You go to class like you do every other day except you go to talk to John today. You want to know about this Rose Lalonde that has captured your morail’s interest. From what John has given you she is a good person who won’t hurt Kanaya’s feelings by leading her on.  You won’t let Kanaya be tortured like that again. Once class begins you try to pay attention to the lesson, but a certain blonde ass comes to mind. He is everything you hate in people, yet you can’t help but feel a connection to him. You think about what he said all class period. The rest of the day to give the teachers your undivided attention. It’s going pretty smoothly until lunchtime when Vriska causes a incident. She gets into a fight with a human from the derse side of the school. You are not surprised that Vriska is in a fight with someone. The fight lasts for about 10 minutes before Aaron Ranger or AR the security guard arrives to stop the fight. Both sides are bloody after the fight so the police were called to the school. 

When the police arrive at the school to handle the situation, they acted quickly. They handcuffed both Vriska and the other kid and questioned everyone. It was determined Vriska started the fight so she was quickly sent to a rehabilitation center. The only place that accepts trolls for rehabilitation is Felt Correctional Center. You’v Heard that that place is a living hell because the trolls are more repressed than they were on Alternia. You’ve seen what happens to the trolls that go there they become feral or gain very bad anxiety. The place isn’t owned by the government, so regulations are thrown outside the window. Some pompous asshat by the name of Lorde English owns the place. He is an old school racist who has donated to have his own opinion in the discussion of politics. You just hope Vriska can survive that prison for however long she has.

 

* * *

  **John**

Your father called you to see if you were safe because he no doubt received a message about the event. You know that Vriska will be sent to Felt Correctional Center for what she has done. You are completely appalled that a place like that exists and isn’t being demolished by the government piece by piece.  Your dad has told you about how the trolls who go there are treated like they are insects who need to be exterminated. You both hates it. It is a private facility, so government inference isn’t allowed. Regulations for the treatment of trolls haven’t been drafted yet so they are suppressed heavily. You notice the other trolls freaking out at Vriska being arrested. Terezi is trying not to jump in to help Vriska out like she would usually. You go over to comfort her in her time of shock. She has just lost her best friend to a stupid mistake that could have been prevented. The school day ends early and everyone is sent home. The humans leave with their parents and friends while the trolls are put on a bus with security to make sure they don’t fight like wild animals. 

You get home to see your Roxy on the couch tapping her foot nervously. “Hey kids, your dad is gonna be late because he has a meeting to attend.” You think that today’s incident has caused interspecies relations to be set back. The other side will say that trolls are uncivilized and shouldn’t be put into schools with human children. Your dad and uncle will fight against it to make sure everyone is equally represented. You go up to your room and hop on a group chat on pesterchum with everyone. All the trolls who you friended and your regular friends. Terezi is  scared for Vriska and wonders what will happen. To finish up talking to the others for the night and then join a private chat between you and Terezi. She asks for your help in any way possible and she doesn’t care if your her kismesis. She just needs help. You talk until midnight and go to sleep. Let’s hope tomorrow isn’t bad.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention but the story is mainly from John’s POV because he is my favorite. This is his story but you will get insight of the others. You know at any point when John and Dave were younger they would have a pretend marriage. It is totally in character.  
> RIP Vriska


	9. A days wonder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To me Terezi doesn’t have very much self worth. She has always thought that she was made to handle Vriska and make sure she doesn’t go off the deep end. The comic shows my point when she kills Vriska. She just gives up and becomes submissive to Gamzee. She would rather lose her sense of self than admit to having no other reason to live because of Vriska. John is the one to force to be relevant in game over. She just planned to kill Gamzee and die. She also strives for independence to the point of refusing any help when she absolutely needs it. She was angry at her doomed self because she made John in charge of her life.

**Terezi**

Today is September 24, 2014. Just yesterday there was an incident involving Vriska at school. She was caught picking a fight with some kid from the derse side of the school. Supposedly he was saying some crap about how preppy the prospit class is, so Vriska called him out. The fight was caused because of some bad mouthing. It wasn’t even serious enough to cause a fight over, yet Vriska’s giant ego couldn’t let it go so she got into it. The human that Vriska fought against was Delvin Hamshire. She was sent to Felt Correctional Center for being a troublemaker. Trolls are usually sent there for first time offenses in violence, however this isn’t Vriska’s first run in with the law. She has been trouble for most of her life as a cobalt blooded troll. It’s in her blood to be a troublemaker because of her ancestor. Delvin is trying to play the victim in this incident because he is such an angel. He's some spoiled asshole who got in because of daddy’s money. You hate those kinds of people. They never earn anything they have in their worthless lives. You wish you could make him pay for his crimes. Unfortunately for you he got expelled because of the fight. The school handled everything very quickly, so to avoid a media outbreak painting trolls as dangerous creatures. He has moved schools and has gone into hiding. He is impossible to track down due to your limited resources.

You are currently in biology class learning about cellular division. You would usually annoy John during class, however he doesn’t take biology. He is taking advanced classes for science in the Honors program. He just had to go to a different class when you need a distraction. He is both the best and worst kismesis right now. You had expected him to give up after the second week of dating you. Yet he has managed to handle you and all your antics. Not even Karkat survived that long in a relationship with you. Karkat gave up being your matesprite after three days. You thought he was going to stay because of how stubborn he is when he does something. He ranted about how unstable you were and how you refused to open up about anything. Doesn’t he know you had to make sure Vriska didn’t go off the deep end. She was the unstable one who unchecked would cause major problems. You believed that was your purpose in life. Now you are lost and don’t know what to do with yourself. You’ll probably visit Vriska when you can. You hope Vriska doesn’t cause more trouble now. What are you thinking Vriska definitely will cause more trouble. You get so lost in your thoughts that you don’t notice that the bell has rung for next period. You eventually snap out of your stupor when the teacher taps your shoulder.

You went to the rest of your classes with John and your other friends for the day and returned home. Upon entering your room you spot a new troll in Vriska’s side of the room. Management could wait any longer to replace Vriska and move in a new resident to get their money. The complex gets paid by the government on how many trolls it has in its facilities. The new girl looks to be about eight sweeps and seems to be a gold blood. She doesn’t have the multi colored eyes or the dual horn combo like other gold bloods. She has orange glasses and has long hair that reaches her waist. You walk up to her to get to know her. “Hey you the new room resident” she looks nervous and responds very shakily. “Uhh yeah. I’m Fregoi Biison. I’m staying here until my moirail can move me into his house with his matesprite.” She doesn’t look you in the eyes the entire time she talks. You know some trolls work to buy houses in the troll and human district and live with their quadrants in them. You planned on getting a job to get out of here, but no one is hiring a blind troll with the habit of licking things. You can’t help it sometimes when you smell something so colorful and delicious.

Fregoi is still looking down at her feet. You think she doesn’t want to be bothered by you right now. You go to your desk and start to work on your school assignments when you get a text. You don’t read it until you finish your school work. You finally grab your phone after working for about an hour on interspecies culture. It’s John. 

* * *

**John**

You are currently talking to your science teacher about your current assignment. You are one of the many students from your school who are in an advanced class. You have already taken your high school biology class when you were younger, so there is no reason for you to retake that class. You are planning on becoming a doctor like your mother did. It’s a way to honor her memory and to bring pride to her for you. The classes are more complex, but you have always had a speciality in science. A feeling of being needed is calling to you. You think Terezi might need someone to talk to about Vriska. You know that she had a strong moirialilgence with Vriska, so she must feel sad or something. You have been paying attention in interspecies culture class so you know that moirials are best friends that complete each other in there faults. You guess that makes Dave your semi moirial because he is your best bro. You have been together every since you had that crush on your kindergarten teacher. He was there when you were grieving your mother and he was there when you broke up with your first girlfriend. You are the best of friends almost to the point of where people thought you two were dating. Dave thought the same until you politely rejected him. He is still your friend to this day.

While on the subject of Terezi you saw her in your later classes. She looked so lost like she was truly blind instead of partially blind. You don’t know what she is. Is she disabled by having her eyes burnt or is she abled because she can smell and taste color. It’s beside the point of where you want to be in your mind set. You need to ask her if she is handling Vriska being incarcerated ok or not. She would usually bother you like a mosquito while in class, but so far she has only sat in her chair all day. You want to comfort her like your dad taught you to when you were growing up. It might not be appropriate because your her kismesis. Then again your only human so pity is just nature to you right now. The teacher is giving everyone work for the meantime. It seems like you’ll need to comfort her later on in the day when your not so busy. 

The school day ended with a good event. You have been put into the start of the boxing competition. Your father has always said that a man needs to know how to defend himself and his family. You’ll need to work out to stay in shape for the competition. That means more time lifting weights and those boxes at work. You work at Abraha Kaboba as a cashier. It’s both a magic and jokes shop for the customers. The job isn’t that bad. You get pocket money for hobbies, but you don’t get to show the customers the uses of the products. You think you’ll need another shift or two to finally get that Nick Cage movie memorabilia collection. That or fix your broken computer that you gave Terezi to use in class. You’ll never understand why she needed to download an entire data drive of crayons and lick it to absolute hell. She is weird like that and you find that kind of hot. Well since the day ended you head back home to do your homework and watch movies. You text Terezi asking if she wants to talk. You get a message about an hour later.

The two of you end up talking about how much you hate each other and other business. You share the idea of beating up Delvin for the justice of Vriska. You learn that Terezi is extremely worried about Vriska in Felt Correctional Center. She has also heard the stories about the trolls being more prisoners than patients. On paper that place is basically rehab and no evidence of wrongdoings has been reported. You also set a date with Terezi on Friday and to visit Vriska tomorrow. You end the messages to Terezi with a goodnight. You think she needs love rather than hate right now.

 

 


	10. A living hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vriska’s POV in Felt Correctional Center. Imagine the scene in Full metal jacket when Vriska gets bullied. ..  
> Mainly filler but the good kind that shows you what other characters are doing.

**Vriska**

Its been about three days since you entered the hellhole called Felt Correctional Center. The first day upon entering the facilities you got punched by a very scrawny rust blooded girl. You weren't expecting something like that from the lowblood when they were approaching you. The thought that the old caste structure existing in this place is what gave you confidence about coming here. Now you are a little bit more shaken up about the whole thing. You got your room arrangements for the rest of your sentence. You are roomed in a huge army barracks like room with all the other trolls who are serving time. You are filled with the feeling of dread when you enter the room. Everyone is looking at you which would normally be no problem, but they are looking at you to size you up. You would say you are a fearless person under any other situation but these tolls are more muscle than brain from the looks of them. You can't mind control them like you used to do on Alternia because the humans have suppressed your powers to the point of being nonexistent. Troll no longer have powers to prove that they are a superior species to other lower lifeforms like they used to. Maybe this is that great punishment that those stupid clowns were talking about. You always thought that they were off their swinging seats(Rocker) when they spoke about shit and their wicked elixir. You decide to stop thinking when you get to your assigned sleeping area. The beds are those double layered twin beds you see in movies but they are made out of metal and are screwed to the concrete floor. They are very uncomfortable. Upon closer inspection they are only made out of metal slabs and their is no padding underneath whatsoever. At least the apartments had a bed instead of these slabs without any form of softness to allow actual sleep. You attempt to close your eyes until you notice the room was clearly made for rustbloods because you're sweating due to the heat of the room. You are a blue blood so your body is naturally more inclined to colder temperatures. You finally mange to close your eyes and sleep in your new bed for however long you're actually here for.

You woke to an morning alarm blaring on in the entire room for its residents. You aren't used to waking up at five in the morning to get to work, so you get ignore it until it stops blaring out its annoying sounds. That was the worst idea you had so far because you get pulled out of bed and get thrown on the floor like some puppet. You are face to face with a monster of a human prison guard standing over you. He has the green guard uniform with a red stripe going down the middle with the number 15 on the side. He is yelling at you about not being up and decides to punish everyone by giving them extra work time. You are really making it hard for yourself to get friends in here. You just decide to follow everyone else to avoid causing more trouble and ending up on their shit list. You don't need enemies right now. The whole day is just torture with the amount of extra work you had brought to everyone else. The facility gets money from both the government and on forced labor from the trolls. Everyone makes poker chips for the owners other business, Casinos. Its all manually because the guards don't trust you with the machines. You get bullied by the others for being new to the area. They both verbally and physically assault you during the day. The guards don’t move until they have to separate everyone. You have no idea that they are planning on doing more to you.

You are worn out by the end of the day, so you fall asleep instantly. All the trolls in the room fill sacks made out of the blankets with their clothes to make improvised slings. They creep up on your sleeping body and restrain you while the others beat you with the slings. They go for your lower body to avoid making any visible bruises for everyone else to see. Retaliation from you will only cause more problems for you, so you endure it for the time being. You do plan to get back at them at some point. If you’re to soon they will get back at you with a better punishment. You doubt that the guards will help you at all they are mainly there to stop you from killing each other and protect the prison’s assets. One of the trolls restraining you is telling you that this is all your fault by whispering in your ear. The slings won’t hurt you to much but the ones who are punching are. It’s about an hour or two until they stop for the night. You now lay in bed busied all over your chest and legs. When morning comes around you get out of bed to avoid any more unwanted harassment. Your legs are sore and are aching every time you take a step. A new guard enters the room today instead of the muscle giant yesterday. He has a red spot with the number 7 instead of the red stripe. 

Today is better than yesterday. You are currently resting outside during yard time when you receive a letter. The letter looks to have been opened already from the top. It seems like you don’t have any privacy while you’re in here. You decide to read the letter right now. 

Hello Vriska

Its me your moirail Terezi. Just wondering how the life of being a felon is treating you. Have you already set the stage for your eventual uprising as the boss of the trolls inside. Did you find my replacement for yourself. I  will try to visit you when I can or if I can find time. Hopefully by then you’ll have probably learned your lesson about starting a fight in school. I’m doing good if you’re asking yourself that right now. John is the same geeky sap he has always been. You were wrong he hasn’t given up on the relationship. I guess the next time I see you I will get five dollars. The assholes in management have already replaced you in the room. I know right they are worse then the last management at the troll housing council. I hope you are safe.

 You crack a smile at the letter after you have read all of it. You are so lucky to have Terezi as your moirail in life. You want to tell her about what has happened, but it won’t reach her if the guards read your mail. They are more cruel here than Alternia. At least there you could have been judged correctly. You plan to send a letter to Terezi hopefully without it being held back. You think they will send it after they read it. Yard time ends a little while later. On your way back in you see two trolls from another block get into a fight. It’s a indigo and a jade blooded troll against the other. They are both split when a guard separates them. The indigo punches the guard who separated them in the face. The same guard who checked on your block in the morning comes over and beats the indigo to a bloody pulp. He has a billy club that looks like a giant crowbar. When he stops beating the indigo blood four other guards come over to pull away both the troll and the injured guard. The indigo blooded troll will not survive because of how bad that beating was. It is at this moment you know you’ll not survive here if you don’t change your attitude. You will die if you cause trouble for these people. You hope Terezi will never have to come here.

 


	11. Double the hate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get intoduced to a new character and we see love blossoming and crash.

**John**

Today is Friday, September 27, 2014. You have a date with your kismesis Terezi. You are planning on taking her to dinner and a movie after school. The dinner is going to be at a restaurant you heard about from WV. They offer traditional Italian dishes that are very spicy. The movie is going to be a black and white 80’s classic. You planned to use your dad’s car to drive around. It’s better go on a date tonight rather then tomorrow because you have a boxing competition. You don’t want to be going in public with Terezi looking like you fought a wall. It would make Terezi seem like an abuser and your her victim. That would be very disastrous for the both of you. You and Terezi have been getting closer as a couple, so much so she has stopped testing you to see if you’ll leave her. You are annoyed when Terezi does the random and insane crap she does, but you know she means well. She helps Tavros with his self confidence, role plays with Nepeta when Equius is gone, and stops Karkat whenever he starts a unwanted rant. She is a great friend to everyone, but she chooses to be mean to strike fear into everyone who isn’t her friend. You might give her something to show that she is appreciated by her friends. 

You are currently waiting for the bell to ring, so you can go home and get ready. You hear the bell and walk to your locker to grab your phone when you see Rose. Rose is talking to Kanaya at her locker. Rose and Kanaya are still in their weird flirting but not dating relationship. You have told Rose to ask Kanaya out for a date almost everyday since you noticed their flirting. Karkat agrees with you and he never agrees with anything. Then again he isn’t any better. You’ve seen the way he looks at Dave when they are talking. He has watched so many romcoms to make a teenage girl cry and yet he doesn’t know what to do. He has given romance advice to everyone, yet to him he can’t see what to do. Dave is probably clueless about his own damn feelings because he thought that he wanted to date Jade when he just wanted to be her friend. You are starting to think everyone you know is just clueless about their current romantic troubles. You stop thinking about your friends and grab your phone and text Terezi. You didn’t need to text her because you see her not even three feet away from you. She licks her phone and turns towards you.

“Why are you texting me John. I’m just right here and everything.” You tell her, “I wanted to remind you that we have a date today. I don’t want you to be making me wait outside like a chump.” She comes closer to you and says, “You weren’t already a chump John. I thought I knew you.” When Terezi stands this close to you your cheeks become red. You have to admit Terezi looks gorgeous up close. “If you get any closer you might like like a pretty girl instead of a gremlin.” You pinch her nose and push her gently away. You smile knowing she has been waiting for today to happen. You leave the school building and get in your dad’s car with Rose. Your dad was hesitant at first about your relationship with Terezi, but came around to support you and your dating life. You haven’t worked out if you’re going to date someone else with Terezi yet. Trolls do have multiple relationships with other people so why can’t you too. It might be a deal breaker for to you. What human girl would want to date some guy who is in a hate date relationship with a troll girl. Would she have to move in with you. You are finally thinking about the long term questions now. Now you are thinking about Karkat telling you how you and Terezi are vacillating. You are so lost in thought that you don’t notice that you are at your house until Rose gets your attention.

You get outside the car and go inside the house to get ready. You wash yourself, do your hair, grab your phone, and grab the keys for the car. If Dave was here he would say you were ready for prom and he would pretend to be your dad. He will do anything to become the most ironic person in your life. He gave you a box of rubbers on your first date. He told you to use them if you ever got lucky on the first date. Dirk got a good laugh, but your father was absolutely horrified. You hop into the white suburban family car. You drive to Terezi’s apartment to pick her up. The Italian restaurant is called Venice Kitchen. You get to the front podium that has the seating staff in every restaurant. The person who is in charge of seating everyone is a troll so are some of the people waiting. At least this place doesn’t segregated trolls like others. The host seats you and Terezi in the outdoors patio like you asked. The patio is decorated with hanging flowerpots with colorful flowers that hang off the side. Vines are sprouting out of walls with pretty flowers. 

You decide to try to cheer up Terezi. She has been sad ever since Vriska got sent to Felt Correctional Center. You hate to say you might being missing her over the top and very demeaning antics. She looked so natural when she insulted and played around with you. You think you’ll send Vriska a letter after this telling her how much Terezi misses her. She needs to know that her moirail is hurting inside. A waiter comes over to get your order for food and drinks. You order two plates of pork bruschetta with pepper and teas. They write up your order and go to the kitchens to have your food prepared. Trying to cheer up Terezi isn’t as hard as people would make you think. She cracks a small smile when you tell her about your past life experiences. She gives her signature crackle when you tell her about how you were married to Dave in elementary school. Hearing her laugh brings joy to you because it sounds like a soft and sweet melody. You look into Terezi’s eyes and she someone who wants to let all her worries out. You hear another kind of laughter from the table in the front. From what you see you notice WV is talking to somebody. Of course he would be here because he was the one who told you about this place. He is chatting it up with a woman in a cream dress. He might also be on a date with the amount of  looks he is giving her. At least he is back in the dating scene. Liv wasn’t a right fit for him at all. 

He is doing well for now so you turn your attention back to Terezi. She is currently paying attention to the color page the table has for kids. You look to see a crude drawing that looks to be her and Vriska hanging out. The drawings are so crude they make Dave’s webcomic look like a masterpiece. You won’t tell her that though since she doesn’t need to be hurt right now. You think you see a tear coming out of Terezi eye and you try to comfort her but get interrupted. The waiter brings the food and drinks to the table in the worst time possible. Terezi pulls herself out of her slump for the time being so she can appear confident and unwavering to everyone. How much longer can she keep up this facade of being charge for until she crumbles. You look to see if WV having any luck on his date. They have already left their table by now, so you’re in this for the long haul. The both of you eat your food get ready to leave. You go to pay for the service when you run into someone. “Johnny?”

The person you have just run into is your younger cousin Maria Vazquez. “Oh hey  Maria. I didn’t expect you to be here today.” Maria stands up straighter and gleefully asks you “I always visit Italian restaurants when I have the time. You however need to answer my question.” She leans closer to whisper “Who’s the lucky gal?” You tense up when she asks that question. What do you tell her exactly because she will no doubt tell the whole family about what happened. “Why do you want to know about my dating life Maria. Am I not entitled to my own secrets of who has captured my heart.” Maria deadpans to you “No, you’re not entitled to any secrets about love. I want to know who your new girlfriend is.” At that moment Terezi decides to make her appearance. “John are we almost ready to go. I have to be back before my curfew.” Maria is shocked beyond comprehension. She looks like you told her that papa was dead. You decide to speak up “Maria this is Terezi Pyrope my troll girlfriend. Well not girlfriend more like my kismesis.” All the color seems to drain out of her face when you tell her that you have a kismesistude with a troll girl. You leave her there to regain her composure and tell everyone the news.

You take Terezi back to her apartment and ask her a question. “Terezi are you feeling ok?” Terezi looks a little taken back by your statement. “Yes John, I perfect alright. Why are you asking.” “You haven’t talked at all today and I’m wondering if something is bothering you.” She pushes her glasses back up since they have been sliding down her face. “It’s none of your business if I’m upset John. Remember your my kismesis not my my moirail or my matesprite.” You look deeply into her eyes. “I know but isn’t a kismesis suppose to make you a better person. I’m here trying to get you out of this depressed mood you’re in.” She gets angry and yells at you. “I’m not depressed John. You should just mind your own business you stupid idiot.” You also get angry. “I’m just being a good person. You haven’t been the same and need help! I’m trying to help you deal with your problems! You don’t have to pretend to be some almighty badass when you hangout with me! You can stop trying to look strong and confident when your confused and don’t know what to do!” She slaps you in the face and gets out of the car. She walks back into the apartment and doesn’t look back at you.

You drive home a little faster than what is allowed. However you are a teenager who may have just broke up with their girlfriend, so you drive like you want to. When you get home you go straight into your room and punch your pillow. You throw the stuffed bear that Terezi got for a gag gift. You think you should save some of the rage for tomorrow’s competition. It isn’t until much later that your dad comes into the room to talk. You need to lose some of your rage so you don’t take it out on your family. You hate today and everything that has happened,

 


	12. Boxing and Letters

**John**

Today is Saturday, September 28, 2014. Just yesterday you broke up with your kismesis Terezi Pyrope. You guys fought because you told Terezi that she is depressed. She didn’t take it too well. She shouted at and slapped you before she walked out of the car and into the apartments. You want to help her out of whatever kind of trouble she has. You know it may not be the best kind of behavior to be so caring for your kismesis, yet you don’t care about the about that right now. What you do care about right now is Terezi’s well-being. You don’t know what could be making her so sad. You thought it might have been Vriska being taken, but normally trolls replace lost moirails. That is what you learned in interspecies culture class. No troll objected the statement, so it must be true to some extent. It wasn’t like those two were close with the amount of independence Vriska had. She would always leave Terezi alone and Terezi would run after her. That isn’t the kind of behavior that happens in a normal healthy morailegance. So why is Terezi so desolate right now. She doesn’t seem like the type to have relationships that are so one sided or deep to the point of dependence. Maybe you’ll find out soon enough.

For now you have to prepare for your boxing competition today. You have been working out and practicing your moves for today all last week. You however built up a little bit more muscle in your legs than your arms. Unfortunately this competition isn’t a MMA fight or else you would use your legs. You are in the car with your dad, Rose, and Roxy your step mom. The competition is being held in the school’s gymnasium at 12pm. Your friends and mother’s family will as be there. Maria will have already told everyone about you dating a troll. She has never been known to keep a secrets for long. At least no one in your family is racist against trolls. They’re just very  judgmental if you don’t live the same linear black and white life they do. Old fashioned isn’t what you would use to describe them because they are with the times. Your grandparents will probably make you show them Terezi to see if she is future wife material. They did it with your past girlfriend Emily and they’ll do it to the next. Sometimes you wonder if they are pulling a big prank on you. That should be the only reason why they do those kind of things. You arrive at the school parking lot and head over to the gym. Upon entering the gym you see your coach and teammates. They are signing in at the front table. 

You go in the locker room and get changed into your equipment. The standard headgear, mouthguard, and shorts with the school’s colors. The coach enters to give his annual motivational speech. “Young lads the day you have been preparing for is finally upon us. I want ya to go out there and show them what you’re made of. Remember lads, fear is but the precursor to valor.” Everyone is now pumped up and ready for the competition. The team steps outside of the locker room and sits until it’s their turn. You watch a troll go against troll and human against human until you get your chance. You are against a monster of a guy in your fight. He looks like a brick wall with a head. He is roughly around 6 feet and 8 inches tall against your 6 feet. It will be a hard fight, but you never expected it to be easy. The bell rings for the fight to begin and you let him hit first. You watch how he swings his fists to see his fighting style and his weaknesses. As your fight him you spot a certain teal blooded girl in the middle row looking at you. Her red sunglasses are hanging on her button nose and she is wearing a black jacket with the school’s logo. You get distracted and the big brute lands a few good punches on your body. You wait for him to swing again so you can counter him. As he goes for the hit you dodge and hit him in the gut. He is tired and holding his stomach so you go for the kill. A well placed punch to the head will knock him out. You win the fight and go sit down on the bench with your team members.

Your team wins the competition by lucky two wins. Everyone gets up shakes the other teams hand and goes to the locker room. You shower with both hot and cold water to clean off all the sweat and treat your bruises. You put on a blue henley and a pair of black jeans after you dry yourself. Upon entering the lobby you get hugged by Roxy and a thumbs up from Dave. Dave being the ironic person he is has your old team jacket with a sign that shows picture of you photoshopped in a recreation of Rocky but in his comic format. Rose hugs you after Roxy does. Jade is lost in a conversation with Bro. The rest of your celebrating party is taking to your moms family. You see Maria, and her mother your mom’s older sister Lucy, and grandpa Leo. Your dad stops talking to them when he sees you standing there. “John, your grandpa Leo is here.” You walk towards them but before you do you see Terezi leave out the front door with a sad but happy expression on her face. You think you’ll talk on the phone with her after you talk to your family. Your aunt Lucy approach’s you first. “Hey John. I heard you are dating again. Who’s the lucky lady.” You decide to her it didn’t work out. “Used to. We broke up after we had a fight.” You preceded to tell them about the break up. Everyone’s mood gets dampened after hear about the break up. Dave breaks the tension when he asks where the boxing team is going to eat. 

You go to Olive Garden with your team and family to celebrate your recent victory. The coach makes a toast to the team with his weird irish accent. “Ye young lads have brought me pride by winning today. The days of today and morrow will be great.” He stops his speech when his drink spills onto his shirt. You just put your drink up to make the colliding drinks moment you see in movies. Everyone joins in the moment and then they start to eat their food. You turn around in your seat to see Maria ranting to Dave on how Olive Garden isn’t real Italian food. She will never will settle down until everyone agrees with her opinion. Your aunt Lucy is no doubt talking to your dad about her current boyfriend troubles. She refuses to date a guy who won’t accept her children. She has three kids and had a husband until she divorced him because he cheated. She has your older cousin Isaac, your younger cousin Maria, and your baby cousin Vinny. Your grandfather Leo is drinking his Whiskey while also listening to Lucy. You wish your grandma Juliet could’ve come but she is still nursing her broken leg. Your other aunts, uncles, and cousins are busy with work or school. Your uncle Vincent is still in China working for Skiatech. He doesn’t have any kids right now. Your aunt Levi and uncle Lincoln are at home taking care of their kids. Levi has one daughter named Sarah. Lincoln has two sons named Mark and Jeff. Your mom was the youngest child of five children.  

As the celebratory dinner is ending you run into one of your troll teammates. He is a teal blood named Falnor. He reminds you about Terezi being in a bad mood because of his permanent droopy face. You need to send Vriska a letter about Terezi’s depressive mood ever since she left. You plan to write the letter when you get home. The dinner ends and you say goodbye to everyone so you can head home. Jade gives you a bear hug and Dave gives you a hug that only the best of bros can have. Maria and Lucy give you kisses on the cheek and your grandpa Leo pats you back. The ride home was long enough for you to think about what you are going to write. Once to get home you rush to your room and write up that letter.

Dear Vriska

I am writing this letter to you to tell you about Terezi. She has been really depressed about something and I tried to help her however we got into a fight and broke up. I know that writing to you and trying to be kind is not kismesis behavior but remember I’m only human. Being kind and caring is in my blood like how trolls say superiority is in their blood except they are heavily suppressed. That doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you need to be a good moirail and send Terezi a message or two. You guys may have a shitty moirailegance but it’s clear that she needs your comfort. You have enough pride to at least spare some and write to Terezi. She needs your strange alien soul bonding friendship.

Sincerely, John Egbert

 You finish writing the letter for Vriska about Terezi’s well being. You know she gets them because she responds to them. Now you wait to see if Terezi’s mood will stop being so depressing and be more happy. Hopefully everything will be alright. Oh how wrong you were at that moment.


	13. You are free now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Terezi is depressed and try’s to fight against it by going against the person who brought it up. She needs help soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The trolls writing quirks are going to be nonexistent because they have been on Earth for so long that they stopped being natural. The trolls have been conditioned to write and text normally and also it will be a mess if I try to use their quirks.

**Terezi**

Today is Tuesday, October 1, 2014. You are currently crying in your bed. You had just received a letter from your moirail Vriska Serket for her current location of Felt Correctional Center. You had gone to school in the morning like you normal do expect today Kanaya had asked you if you had gotten any news from Vriska. You have been waiting patiently for a letter from Vriska for a week. Today you would get your wish from the hand of a monkey. Once you arrived at the community apartments you call home you heard from the front office that you received a letter. You opened your PO Box to find the letter you had been anticipating since last week. A letter from Vriska your moirail. You ran into your room and opened the letter like you were a kid on Christmas. You were so excited about the content of the letter that you almost ripped it apart. You got the message that was inside and you were ready to read. What was inside scared you. 

Hey Terezi 

I have been inside Felt Correctional Center for about a week. In that time I have learned many things about the world and most importantly about myself. This place is meant to break down and reconstruct people like me. For that reason alone I will need a competent moirail to help me adjust. You have always followed me, but I need some likeminded and more available. For that reason alone I have decided to dump you as a moirail and get another one from here. I have already met a few who could easily fill your position much better than yourself. They are more suited to be my moirail than you ever were. Just so you know that this is me I have left the bracelet that you made for me in wrigglehood in the package. You are now free to follow your own path and make a new moirail. They may not be as awesome and cool as I am but at least you have the memory that you and I were once connected.At least you still have that human of yours to play with. I wish I had him as my kismesis. He looks like a fun person to  manipulate. You were right all along humans are too easy. Anyway wish me luck on my moirail endeavors. What am I saying I have all the luck. You are free now Terezi.

The letter is stained a light blue from your tears. It sits there on your desk all wet and soggy. Your moirail the one person who is meant to be your support and anchor has just dumped you. You’ve spent all of your life dedicated to her and she drops you like garbage. You have abandoned all your relationships and opportunities to be with her. You were made to make sure she didn’t get herself in trouble. Your life’s purpose was to counteract her troublesome behavior. Now it’s nothing. You built a reputation of being a crazy jackass, so you naturally push people away. The only relationship that showed any potential of being successful is ruined because you couldn’t let your facade of being invincible fall. Now you lay in bed in a soup of your tears, hopes, and dreams. You don’t know what you’ll do now. Maybe you can fade into nothingness if you try hard enough. You close your eyes and relax all of your muscles in bed. You don’t fade-away instead you fall asleep.

You wake up early without having had a dream last night. You stay in bed and contemplate what life has to offer you. Crying into your pillow sounds like the best damn idea you’ve had in a while. The crying only lasts for an hour because you hear someone waking up. You want to sleep in your bed forever but you know you can’t. Someone will no doubt pull you out to see if you are still alive. No one will try to help you since most are scared of you. Being close to Vriska didn’t make you a very comforting person. Staying up right now leads you to a few more conclusions. If you continue to cry everyone will make fun of you. All of your reputation points you’ve earned will cease to exist. But the worst thought is you will prove Egbert right. He would’ve been right when he said their was something wrong with you. He will laugh at you being torn apart by your own depression. If he is right then that means you were wrong about everything. You don’t spend any more time being depressed. If only it that easy to stop being sad. As you wait for school to begin you prepare for everything. By everything you mean sulk in the corner and pack your bag. You go to school and do all you can to prove you are alright. However your actions speak in a different way than you want.

You have stopped being the sarcastic and overly dramatic girl you once were to become a husk of what was. You no longer talk to anyone except if it’s absolutely necessary. Colors smell less bright and exciting then before. Now it smells like a cloudy boring day without anything to do. Since your sense of smell has began deteriorating you’ve been bumping into more things than usually. You don’t mind running into objects or people when you’re walking. What does get your mind is John. When you see him in your classes you imagine him laughing at you. You are always angry when you see him smiling and laughing with your friends. When did he become so popular with everyone. He is just a stupid human who doesn’t know what he is doing. Why is so successful when you are on the ground struggling. You want to destroy his confidence so the both of you can stand on equal ground. It isn’t fair that he gets to be happy while you suffer. You too prideful to ever admit a defeat by his hands. You begin to look at him to see if you can spot any weakness and use it against him. You try to insult his looks but he counters by saying he will let Kanaya give him advice. You berate his knowledge and he rebuffs you by studying harder. You try and fail at this for a week.

You try to stop letting John be the center of your thoughts but it seems to be impossible. He represents everything you hate and admire. He doesn’t let your insults keep him down even when he can’t find a way to turn the table on you. He is free spirited where you are reserved and nervous of not being accepted in high standards. You want to say he is doesn’t look good, but that would be a lie. He looks absolutely amazing. His hair is so messy but he manages to pull it off so well. His glasses make him nerdy yet give him a seductive image at times. He is well built and he has grown in height. He is now imposing figure to you. Maybe life has destined you to be defeated by him. School life continues as usual but your stomach growls at the most inconvenient time. You’ve been so preoccupied not looking weak and trying to one up Egbert that you forgot to eat. You haven’t eaten since Vriska got sent to Felt Correctional Center. Your stomach is more flat and you are lacking more muscle than before. You are starting to look like lanky skeleton than a teal blooded troll girl. You wonder what will happen now. We’ll find out soon enough.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vriska was take to Felt Correctional Center about two weeks ago.


	14. Cliches are meant to be shown

**John**

Today is Thursday, October 17, 2014. You are currently in advanced biology class. The teacher has decided to let you work on any missing assignments you have. You have already finish all your work, so you spend your free time thinking about Terezi. You had sent a letter to Terezi’s moirail Vriska a little over two weeks ago talking about Terezi being unhappy in her life. Since then Terezi has fallen into a depressed husk like state. She continues to insult you at any given time, but the insults feels very empty. Her body seems to be working normally, yet her mind is blank and despondent. All traces of the former confident, energetic, slightly over the top troll girl is gone. All that is left is a body that no longer feels emotion or will. You overheard Kanaya talk about Terezi being dumped as a moirail by Vriska. The idea that your letter to Vriska might have caused this sudden change is prevalent right now. You never expected Terezi to take the news so badly. To you their moirailegance wasn’t healthy and was doomed to fail. Neither one was willing to let their pride fall to recognize their own faults were to big for themselves. They never sought help from the other because of their egos.

Your school day ends for the day and you decide to talk to Terezi. You walk down the long hallway of students to her locker. She isn’t there. Maybe she was there before you had arrived. You’ll never know the answer if you just stay there though. You began a journey across the school property to find the sad and lonely teal blood. The search begins in the arts room then the main office. She has a habit of wanting to lick colorful paintings so the arts room was your best bet. She wasn’t there eating the colors like you thought. You go to the main office next to see if she is talking to the principal WQ. The secretary says she hasn’t seen Terezi all day. If she isn’t here then where is she. You search the whole school trying to find any trace of Terezi. So far she has been to today’s classes but you didn’t see her. She probably sat in the back while you were in the front. That has become a habit of her lately. It isn’t until you’re about to leave that you find Terezi. You find her crying under one of the trees in the back of the school. She has her hands on her face and her legs hugged up to her chest. She is wearing the same black jacket she wore last two weeks ago with black leggings and a pair of boots. Her face is only visible to you for a few seconds. She has snot and tears flowing down her paler than usual grey skin. You feel sorry for her right now. You go and try to comfort her.

As you walking towards her you see she has one of Dave’s art sketches. It’s a picture of a comic he drew after you had announced your relationship with Terezi. You try to suppress a little giggle from coming out. You fail miserably at that task and gain Terezi’s attention. Terezi uses her jacket sleeve to wipe away the light blue tears and snot. She gets up and immediately starts yelling, “What the hell do you want Egbert!” You step back a little. “I came over to check up on you Terezi.” “No you didn’t! You came over here to laugh at my misery! Are you happy now that you see me crying John! Do you feel happy that you were right about me being sad?” You try to walk to her. “Why would I be happy about being right? You are unhappy and you look like you need help right now.” Is that what I am to you! Am I just some train wreck that you need to fix in order for you to feel good about yourself! Am I even a person to you!” She is crying more now than she was before you arrived. “Aren’t you going to try to defend yourself!” “Terezi you need to calm down you’re being a hysterical madman.” Terezi is now angry. “Let me help you Ter...” she tries to hit you but you grab her fist. She just gets more angry and more tearful as you hold her fist. You let go of her fist. You want to speak to her again, but she runs away. Rose calls you before you can run after her. “What do you want Rose!” “Hey, calm down John. I just wanted to ask you where you were. Dad has been trying to call you for a while.” You take a deep breath and talk to Rose right. “Sorry. I’ve just been busy is all.” “No problem John just get over here.” You walk to the parking lot.

Both your dad and Rose are in the car waiting for you. They don’t question you on why you were late until you get home. The questions are simple so you give one worded answers. You go to your room and go into your closet. There sits a blue box that you grab on occasions. You decide today is one such occasion. A picture of you, your mom, and your dad sits on the top. You grab it and ask your mother for some guidance on what to do. She always said she would help you with girls. Maybe she might help you right now or she might agree with you about Terezi being wild. You laugh because she would no doubt tell you to go after her even if Terezi has the temperament of a grouch. You put everything back and go to sleep for the day.

* * *

**Terezi**

You are currently on your bed thinking about today’s events. You had gone to school to prove that you were strong, but that backfired. You were walking to your locker when you saw two moirails comforting each other in public. They were hugging and talking about what grades they got on the geometry test they took. To them life couldn’t be any more better than now. It made you angry at first so you yelled at them. The taller of the two began crying because you had insulted his horns. The smaller one just cursed at you and took the taller one away to calm him down. You saw how they took care of each other and that made you a little heartbroken. Will you ever meet someone who will make you feel that way about yourself. You ran outside and sat under a tree crying your miserable heart out. As you crying you heard someone giggle. You turn to see John Egbert trying to hide a smile behind his hand. How could he laugh at you at a time like this. Here you were crying about how unfair and cruel life is when a happy go lucky idiot laughs. You started to argue with him. Yelling felt so good to do, but it was a temporary relief for you. You tried to hit him when he didn’t answer your question about how he sees you. He grabbed your fist and held onto it for a few minutes. In those minutes you felt completely powerless to him. Once he let go you gathered all your things and ran away. You made it to the bus to go home and sleep in your bed. 

That is what happened today. That emotional rollercoaster of anger and sadness took a lot out of you, so you try to sleep. You did fall asleep once you got to your bed, but you woke up soon after. Sleep has been another thing you have been missing. You are tired, hungry, and unappreciated right now. You just lay in bed like a lifeless body until you have to go to school. There you can distract yourself from your own mind. You put on a teal hoodie with baggy blue jeans to hide your body. Not eating for about three weeks makes you more bones than skin. You do eat but it’s very little and it doesn’t always stay when you go to the bathroom. You don’t try to intentionally throw up your food it just happens. The only food you do seem to keep down is blueberry yogurt. Anything else is either impossible to eat or impossible to keep down in your stomach to digest. Unfortunately a diet of only yogurt is not healthy in the slightest. The cafeteria also has a very limited amount of yogurt available. Life just has to interfere and ruin everything about your life. When you get to the school you go immediately to class to claim a seat in the far back to avoid everyone. The classes are long and don’t have any point to them. When you see John in class you get angry and want to hit him. It won’t solve anything because he can easily stop you or simply let you hit him. John is just that much of a caring loser pushover. Humans have always been the more docile species against trolls.

You go to the rest of your classes except PE. It has started raining on the day you were supposed to exercise outside. You wouldn’t have been able to run around long, but the thought somewhat counts. Staying inside isn’t bad for in anyway possible. The day just continues on like usual. When it ends is when it gets very bad for you. John has found you and has cornered you to talk. The only escape for you is to run outside in the rain and hope he doesn’t want to get wet. You take the opportunity to bolt outside to escape John. John has a different idea because he runs after you. The rain is making it harder for your tired and malnourished body to continue running from John. Your clothes are getting heavier by the second until you collapse. Now you are on the floor soaked to the bone and defeated. John simply walks to you and picks you up to talk. “Terezi stop running!” You look at him and say, “Then stop running after me John! I have nothing to say to you or anyone else for that matter!” John’s face gets angry serious after you say that. “Terezi you need help! I know Vriska has dumped you as a moirail, but that doesn’t mean you need to be depressed!” “I’m not depressed John! I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that I’m not depressed!” He looks at your body and says, “Then why have you not been yourself lately! You haven’t even eaten anything since Vriska got sent to Felt Correctional Center! If that doesn’t mean you aren’t depressed then I don’t know what is!” Your clothes are hanging on your body and you see yourself. Your bones are showing through your skin and your under 100 pounds. “Ok I am depressed John! Are you happy with yourself now! Congratulations on figuring out that mystery before I did! I don’t need your help fixing myself though. I’m the only person who cares about myself so you can go now and be happy!” You are crying and yelling at John in the middle of nowhere in the city. Yelling is the only thing you have going for you. “I don’t need anyone’s help! I am an independent woman. You don’t even care about me do you. Nobody cares about me!” You try to continue ranting about your life but John just hugs you tightly. He whispers in your ear. “I care about you, your friends care about you, the school cares about you.” You see John crying and telling you about the people who care for you.

You push him away but he still has a grip on you. “What do you know about being depressed John! You are the most annoyingly happy person I know so what could you know about depression!” He looks you in your eyes. “I watched my mother and two unborn siblings die right in front of me. I know what it’s like to lose someone.” You begin to understand that he knows what you’re going through. He has already experienced the bottom of the barrel. You talk to him about your situation. “Vriska was my everything. I thought that the both of us would be inseparable. She would be the bad cop and I would be the good cop of our dynamic. She was my goddess. I thought our relationship could have worked out because you were the only other person who could deal with me. Then we began vacillating and I felt like you more of a moirail than her. You treated me as your equal and I was afraid that would mean I was wrong about Vriska. I started feeling a little red about you but I didn’t want Vriska to feel like I was leaving her.” You hugs you tighter and says something you didn’t expect. “I didn’t know you felt that way. I thought that you saw me as just your kismesis. In that case I feel the same way. I love you Terezi Pyrope” John tips your head upwards and kisses you. It feels great to have his arms holding you and kissing you. You begin to feel something you haven’t felt in a long time. You feel loved and appreciated. The kiss is warm and gentle like a soft blanket covering you at night. When it ends you tell John your feelings. “I love you to John Egbert.” It feels like a movie. A moment of passion in the rain has brought confessions of love. It’s so cliche that Karkat has ten film cases with the same scene. You and John are now Matesprites. 


	15. The morning after

**John**

The date is still October 17, 2014. You and Terezi are still standing in the rain somewhere in the city. You weren’t expecting to confess your love for Terezi today. You wanted to go on a normal date with her before you confessed. It doesn’t matter now anymore. You have made your choice and it worked better than you had anticipated. She said she felt the same way about you and now you’re dating her. She is holding onto your shirt right now so she doesn’t fall. She is tired from lack of sleep and proper nutrition. The rain slows down and you see the sun going down on the horizon. You decide to say something about the time. “Hey Terezi it’s getting late. You might have to come home with me today because the troll district is to far to walk that way.” Terezi looks up and says,“Yeah, remind me next time to run in the direction of the apartments instead of away.” The both of you are 2 hours away from the shared troll apartment complex on foot, but are less than 15 minutes away from your house. Both of your clothes are soaked through, your bags were left at school, and it’s late. The troll apartments lock the front doors at night to keep out unwanted visitors. There aren’t any rules that say she can’t stay the night at your house. There isn’t any other option to choose so you take her to your place. The walk allows you to talk and reassure Terezi that you care about her.

When you get to your front lawn you spot Dirk’s orange pickup truck and Jade’s bike in the driveway. They must have come for dinner. Dave is probably inside the dining room sipping on the organic apple juice you bought for him like it’s an expensive wine. Jade will probably punch your arm for being late for dinner.You use your key to open up the door like usual. When the door opens you see your step mother Roxy pacing next to your dad. Rose is the first to notice you walk thru the door. “John where have you been? You just ran out of school without your backpack or your phone. We were worried sick about you.” You know Rose is being serious right now. “Sorry about running out on you Rose. I just had to talk to Terezi about something.” Rose sees Terezi standing right behind you in the doorway. Terezi waves at everyone. Your dad decides to talk, “What was so important that you had to run out of school.” “Well like I said I had to talk to Terezi. She needed my help so I happily gave it to her like a gentleman.” He gets more comfortable in his seat and continues to question you. “What did she need your help for. You broke up with her as kismesises. What is she doing here.” You let Terezi get inside the house and then speak with your father. “She was sad about Vriska getting sent away and dumping her, so I helped her to get her mind off of Vriska for a while. You do know that the apartments where Terezi lives locks the doors at a certain time. She is going to stay over for the night.” Your dad accepts your response without any questions but Dirk doesn’t. “Why in the living hell are you letting Terezi crash here. Remember you two broke up as hate lovers, so you don’t owe her anything. Unless she is carrying your kid then it makes total sense. Did y’all make some hate baby before you ended it.” Your cheeks get red at the mention of being told that the only reason you would allow Terezi to stay over is if you got her pregnant. “She isn’t pregnant. Stop assuming that. I know Emily was a basket case but don’t assume I do that. We haven’t even had sex and is it even possible. We’re two different species.” Dave joins his brother in questioning you about Terezi. “Then why is she here bro. She better not be forcing you into anything John.” You want to sink into the floor right now. From the looks of it so does Terezi. “Dave me and Terezi are dating again. However this time as matesprites rather than kismesises. She has been dropped as a moirail by Vriska and she needs some who loves her right now.” They get the reason now. 

Your parents finish cooking spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread for everyone while you and Terezi take showers. You give her some of your clothes so you can wash hers in the laundry room. The clothes is unsurprisingly big on Terezi’s shorter and thin body. Ever since the beginning of the school year you have gotten a growth spurt. You now tower over Terezi’s height. Terezi sits next to you at the table when it’s time to eat. She eats a little bit of the spaghetti meatballs and homemade garlic bread. You encourage her to eat a little more in secret to make sure she is eating correctly. She finishes her garlic bread and eats a plate of spaghetti. You congratulate her and go to bed. You’re about to lead Terezi upstairs when your dad calls you back. “What’s the problems dad. I’m just taking Terezi to my room to go to sleep.” He gives the biggest look of disapproval. “That’s the problem John. The two of you are sleeping in different rooms. I don’t want to hear any objections or see you in the same room without some adult supervision.” “Dad I’m going to engage in risky behavior with Terezi if we share a room. You let Emily sleep in my room when she came over.” “Look at how that turned out John.” You realize your mistake and immediately take Terezi to the guest bedroom. You give her a quick hug and go to your room to sleep. You enter your room and take off your shirt. Sleep is much easier for you without a shirt making you have a heatstroke. You fall asleep in seconds upon seeing how tired you really were.

You wake up earlier than normal so you go work out in the basement. It’s 4:45 in the morning on a Saturday morning. As you were exiting your room you decided to go check on Terezi. The guest bedroom door isn’t locked so you walk in. Terezi is laying in bed sideways with half the blanket on her. She must have been very tired because you can hear the busy morning traffic that you are used to hearing. She looks so peaceful when she is asleep. Her face is scrunched up to give her a little scowl and her hair is short enough to be cute but long enough to look amazing. You should leave the room before she wakes up or your dad sees you. You go to the door but Terezi starts having a nightmare. You walk back to the bed to try comforting her. Movies have taught you that when someone is uncomfortable while asleep you must brush their hair with your hands. Her hair is soft and is almost curly. She calms down enough to continue sleeping in bed. You finally leave the room to do some morning exercises. The basement of your house has a couple rooms for everybody to use. There’s a workout room, wine cellars for your stepmom, a coat closet for Rose, and a gaming room. You get to the weights to build muscle until breakfast is ready. 

 

* * *

**Terezi**

Today is Saturday, October 18, 2014. You are currently asleep at your matesprite’s house. You knew John came from a rich family but you never knew how rich. The bed is soft enough for you to basically sink in. You can finally get the much needed sleep you have been missing out on. If only your dreams got the memo. You were having a nightmare about being alone again when you felt someone petting your hair. It was both gentle and  assertive. You calmed down enough to continue getting your beauty sleep. You slept for another two hours.

You wake up to the sounds of pots and pans banging against each other. Waking up makes you forget most of what has already happened. Your first thought is wondering where you are right now. Images of last night fill in all your questions. You had ran out of school during a rainstorm and John followed you. You were scared of having your heart broken again, so you couldn’t let John get close to you. He would have made you see your problems and then face them. It turned out for best that John caught you running. He confessed his love for you and told you that he would be there to help you with your depression. You weren’t showing how weak you were and he accepted you. He is such a good person that he would help someone who broke up him. What did you do to deserve such kindness from someone. You decide to think about that later you need to use the bathroom. You get out of soft bed and head towards the bathroom you used yesterday. The hallway outside of the bedroom is very decorative with family pictures and assorted decor. You stumble into a table by accident because it’s scentless. You mainly navigate the world around you mostly from scent alone. Your cane is only used on special occasions such as annoying people. It would be very useful now if you didn’t leave it in your room. You just keep walking down the hallway on your journey to the bathroom.

The bathroom is spacious and very colorful. The scents that come to you from the room is like solid energy. The bathroom is also enough for a medium sized walk in shower. Someone must have taken one recently because you smell soap duds and dirty clothes. You do what is needed and wash your hands. You think you should go talk to John about getting a ride to the apartments. A new scent is in the air when you exit the bathroom. The scent of freshly cooked breakfast that is always attached to John. You head downstairs to the kitchen to see if you can get some breakfast. As you enter the dining room you hear John’s voice call you. “Good morning Terezi. Did you sleep well last night.” “Yeah I slept pretty good John. I have slept better last night than I did the last three weeks” John’s face shifts into a smile after hearing about how comfortable you are. You go over to where he is sitting and sit next to him. Your stomach has said that this would be the perfect time and place to growl. “Don’t worry Terezi breakfast is almost ready to serve. I glad that you’re trying to eat food instead of refusing.” He gives you a kiss on your cheek. You hear Rose enter and laugh a little at John. “Woah there John you’re going a little to fast there. You’ve just established a romantic relationship with her and now you’re kissing her.” John laughs at Rose’s remark. “Rose me and Terezi have been kissing each other since our first hate date. Remember we’ve been together for about a month already.” Rose says, “You are right John. You have been with Terezi for about a month but it wasn’t a matespriteship before.” John’s dad enters thru the kitchen door. “Hey John can you help me get everything ready? Oh hi Terezi. Almost forgot you were here today.” Both John and his dad go into the kitchen. Rose takes this opportunity to question you. “Do you love him Terezi?” You are a bit taken back by Rose’s question. “Yes. I love John.” She sits up in her chair to establish dominance. “Good because if you ever break his heart I will never forgive you. Believe me when I say I can destroy you without having to be physical.” She no doubt cares deeply for her stepbrother. You think you’ll ask the question that has been bothering you for a while. You have heard her name on multiple occasions when you were still kismesises with John. She must have done something drastic in order to be mentioned so many times. “Who was Emily and what did she do to make your dad angry?” Rose’s face tenses up. “She was John’s ex and she was very possessive of him. You would have thought they were married based on how clingy she was. She would constantly try to make him stay with her and no one else. They broke up when she...” Rose had stopped talking when everyone walks into the room with the food.

 Everyone sits down and begins putting food on their plates. Emily must be a very sensitive topic if Rose had to stop talking about her when everyone had arrived.  You decide to ask Rose at a later time about Emily. You grab a plate and begin serving yourself. Today’s breakfast spread is sunny side up eggs, honey glazed ham, pork sausages, and wheat toast. You get a bit of everything on your plate with a cup of water. Eating is a little difficult to do, but it’s much easier now knowing that people care about your health. You turn your attention to John’s dad. He was very cautious of you last night when John said he loved you to everyone. Your mind goes blank because Mr. Egbert is a really good cook. All the food you’ve eaten you never knew food could taste this good. While you were eating breakfast a certain short tempered troll was having a aneurism. ****

* * *

**Karkat**

 

 You are currently the short tempered troll having an aneurism. Why are you having aneurism this early in the morning. Well that would have to be because your friend Terezi ran out of school during a rainstorm and never came home. You may act like a grouchy bastard, but you are really a sweetheart who cares about your friends. Terezi has been acting more weird than usual lately. She has been closed off and John noticed it before you did because he told you about and he ran after her yesterday. You have tried calling him all day yesterday night to no avail. None of your troll friends have any information about Terezi’s whereabouts. She has never did anything like this for as long as you have known her. You have only one option left in your search for Terezi. You have to call Dave Strider. He is friends with John and his sister Rose, so he must have at least some information. “Hey its ya Dave Strider. What ya need?” You are already get a headache. “Hello Dave. This is Karkat Vantas from the prospit class. Do you know where Terezi is at? She didn’t come home last night and I need to know where she is.” “Oh it’s you KitKat. Yeah Terezi is at her macdaddy’s house. Who knows they might already be married and have their unholy hellspawn in her oven.” This phone call makes you want to break your phone and bust your head. “Where the fuck is Terezi David?” “Woah there shortstack. You might want to calm down before you birth a cow. Terezi is at John’s house.” Now you know where Terezi is but you want to know why she is there. “Why the fuck is Terezi at John’s house. Didn’t they break up two weeks ago.” “Yeah but now they are matesprites. Terezi just couldn’t get enough Egbert the first round so now she going in for keeps. She has a little competition in the game.” Terezi in a matespriteship with her former human kismesis sounds like a lie but you never know. You end the call with Dave.

You go to Kanaya with the news about Terezi. Kanaya is with Feferi in their room talk with someone. “Hey Kanaya I found out where Terezi is.” She turns towards you with her phone in her hand. “She is with her new matesprite at his house. You’ll guess who the lucky guy is.” “It’s John.” You step backwards because you don’t know how she figured it out. “I’m on the phone with Rose right now.” Well then it looks like all your hard work was for nothing. You storm out of the room and go to your room. In there you can get back to your three roommates. Tavros is reading his fantasy book, Gamzee is reading the same book with Tavros, and Sollux is modding his computer to be faster. You just go to your bed to watch your romcoms under the covers. Nothing brings you a smile like Will Smith in Hitched. You wonder if you’ll ever find someone who loves movies as much as you. Maybe you will someday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What has Emily done to the family to have become a disgraceful topic. And will Karkat find someone to watch movies with.


	16. Sunday night party

> **Dave**

Today is Sunday, October 19, 2014. You have just heard about a party in the troll district from your friend Jade. Some mid blooded girl  is having a house party for her high blooded matesprite. Everybody is invited to come over and join the party. You have already sent everyone else in your contacts a message about the party. As a cool guy you must show up at every party and stand in the corner with a red solo cup. If you don’t follow that specific  rule you’ll lose your cool guy status. A truly horrific day will be when you become uncool. Bards will sing of the travesties that have happened when you lost your cool. Cool guys everywhere will shed a a single tear behind their sunglasses after losing a legend of coolness. Your bro will mourn your cool guy persona in an trendy anime outfit. Your bro is the only person who could pull the world out of the chaos. He would carry the world out like it was some damsel in distress. You get so caught up in your own mental stupor that you don’t hear your brother come in. He just sees you standing blankly in front of the wall that has a giant outline of SBAHJ. You were the one you painted the picture, but your brother was the one who framed it. He touches your shoulder to snap you out of your head. “Hey Dave are you ok?” “Yeah, I just got caught up in my own mind for a second” He pats your back and sits on the futon to watch T.V. “Are you sure? If you need to talk about anything you can come to me.” He succeeds on both being mature and being fun. He is only twelve years older than you, yet he acts like a father to you. He became like a father to you when you were nine years old. He had turned twenty one and had applied to become your guardian. Your parents weren’t very good parents, so your older brother took you to go live with him. They hated your brother because they had him when they were sixteen. He said you didn’t deserve to be abused by them like he had been. He saved you because a year later your parents went away for selling drugs from their house. “I know thanks bro. Thank you for everything.” The two of you share a brotherly hug.

You’re currently on the bus going to the troll district. The bus is full of other people who look like they are also going to the party. Someone has two bags filled with sodas which are alcoholic to trolls. Trolls can get drunk from both sugary drinks and regular alcohol. Trolls need to have a lot of sugar in order to get drunk. A simple piece of candy would be fine but a sugary soda would have them off their ass. Troll biology is weird as hell. Humans have very little knowledge on the mechanisms of troll biology. You decide not to pay attention to the other people who get on the bus. Looking at people is a good way of starting a fight. Instead you listen to your playlist of mixed beats and read some comments on your comic. For whatever reason the comments on your comics are mainly about the links to the smutppet site. The smutppet website is a fully independent and successful business that brings a crapload of money. They are made at your house instead of a factory. You can’t count the times that you’ve been buried under a pile of puppet ass. Yet somehow people buy them like crazy, so at least you get paid for advertising space. You know there’s a kink for everything you suppose. The rest of the ride to the troll district is smooth sailing.

When you get to the house it’s 7:32pm. The house looks like a old mud hut that you would find in a desert. It has a very southern Hispanic design. You just straight into the house and look for your friends. You see Jade talking to someone in the back of the kitchen. “This is a really nice house Gredia.” “What’s up Harley. I see your already replacing us with others.” Jade turns around and welcomes you. “I wish I could find someone as ironic as you Dave. The ones I have interviewed for your position as my cool friend have all failed. None could have as many freudian slips as you.” She laughs at her own joke. “Ok I choose to retire as your ironic friend. I need to get my pension, so I can sue John for the rest of my alimony. My supply of apple juice is running short. For meantime what are doing right now Jade.” “I’m talking to my friend Gredia. She owns this house with her matesprite Helena. They are trying to move Helena’s moirail Fregoi into the house.” You shake your head to show Jade that you are following what she is saying. “Ok. Have you seen John or Rose around her. I texted them about the party five hours ago.” “No I haven’t seen Rose or John around here. The party doesn’t start until 8:15.” Gredia went to the pantry as you and Jade were talk to bring out a large dark green ice chest. “Hey did y’all guys want anything from the chest before I put er out.” You shake your head to decline her offer of a drink right now. People are beginning to crowd into the house now. You see John, Terezi, Rose, and some troll girl in the front lawn. You go talk to them.

 

* * *

**Karkat**

You are trying to make your way thru the crowd of party goers. You are looking for your moirail Gamzee Makara. You have been here at this party for about an hour. It’s currently 9:27 pm. You had arrived with all your friends except Terezi, Aradia, Eriden, Sollux, and Feferi. Terezi and Sollux had arrived earlier. When you had arrived to the party you saw Terezi’s roommate Fregoi talking to a jade blooded girl and her indigo blooded matesprite. You had walked in with your moirail Gamzee when Jade had ambushed you. She was walking around with a tray of jello cups for everyone to have. The jello was made out of jello powder and fruit juice because she didn’t want to be getting people drunk off the bat from high amounts of sugar. You and Gamzee had a strawberry jello cup which was pretty tasty. You also get a cup of punch or something. It has a very tangy taste and makes you feel great about yourself. It was going great until you lost Gamzee in the crowd. You didn’t notice he was gone until you asked him if he wanted a drink. That is what happened. You searched the bedrooms, bathrooms, and outside for him. You were about to quit the search when you ran into Dave. “Hey watch where you’re going. Oh it’s you Strider.” Dave was holding onto a red cup when you ran into him. “Good evening to you to Karkat. You almost made me spill my cup of coke-cola.” He always comes into your life at the worst possible time. “I don’t have time to be talking to you Dave. I have to look for my poor excuse of a moirail Gamzee.” “Gamzee is over there with that guy.” You turned around to see Gamzee and some human making out. They were on the wall breathing in each other’s skin. The human that Gamzee is kissing is a tall and skinny blonde boy. Some of Gamzee’s make up is all over his face. You try to split them up. 

“Hey Gamzee. Want to give the guy some time to breathe air instead of your face paint.” He isn’t listening to you, so you try shaking him for attention. “Hey nookwhiffer listen to me.” He stops kissing the blonde boy for a while to talk to you. “What’s up Karbro. I’m a little busy right now showing this guy a good time. Can you come back in a little while when I’m done.” You can smell the sugary faygo soda on his breath. He promised you that he quit drinking sugar.  You attempt to pull them apart again but the guy who Gamzee is making out with throws his drink at you. Your shirt is soaked with whatever drink combo he had. You leave him alone like he asked but you don’t plan on coming back. “Wait Karkat.” Dave grabs your arm before you can walk away. “Let go of me right now Dave. I’m angry and wet right now, so if you don’t want to get yelled at let go.” He just grips tighter. “You don’t have to be angry Karkat. Just because your moirail is kissing some random guy doesn’t mean you have to be ballistic. This isn’t some romantic comedy where you have to be angry about your friend being with someone.” You shake him off your arm. “I know I just want to go home. I didn’t want to come to this stupid party anyway.” He leads to a more private part of the house to talk. “Karkat do you need help getting home. You don’t look completely sober and the night can be dangerous. I can take you home if you want to.” You accept his offer to go to your apartment.

He was right about you not being completely sober. You must have had some alcoholic substance because you can’t seem to walk straight. It was probably punch you had before Gamzee went missing. You had about three cups of the tangy party juice. Dave has to straighten your form while walking. The apartments wasn’t  very far from party so you arrive pretty quickly. Dave takes you to you room. Your stomach isn’t feeling to well. Your room is relatively cleaner than other rooms in the apartment. You try to make it presentable but your roommates don’t share the same idea. Gamzee has grape juice bottles around his bed and desk, Tavros has his books scattered around the room, Sollux has his computer parts all over his desk, and you left a bunch of movies on your bed. Dave sees your movies on your bed and decides to look at them. “Dude I didn’t know you had Hitched. It’s the shit.” You weren’t exactly expecting him to say that. “Yeah it’s my favorite movie. I love romcoms ok. You can laugh at my hobby of watching girly movies.” He doesn’t laugh instead he complements you. “Karkat there’s nothing wrong with watching romantic comedies. They are pretty good when you find the right one instead of the cheesy garbage some people produce. Your movie taste couldn’t be any worse than John’s.” You have found someone who has accepted your movie taste. A feeling of relief hits your stomach then you throw up on Dave. Red tinted mush stains Dave’s shirt and pants. That was extremely embarrassing. At least no one is here to witness this shitshow. 


	17. Helpful advice and relationship questions

**Terezi**

Today is Tuesday, October 21, 2014. You are currently waiting in the front office of your school for the guidance counselor WQ. John helped you schedule a meeting with her today. You would have seen her yesterday, but she had a busy faculty meeting. You need some psychological help with your issues. While you wait you decide to examine the room. The front office is painted in a creamy hazel nut brown color. It mixes with the strong scent from the coffee machine in the employee break room on you left. A few teachers are in their drinking the coffee while waiting for their classes to start. The potted plants scattered around the room have a very weak herbal scent. Someone must have forgotten to water them. The infirmary is connected to the nurse’s office. Ms. Paint the school’s nurse is in her office next to the principal’s. The principal is a guy named Andrew Hussie. You haven’t met or seen him anywhere at school. No one see him come out of his office he is just already there. A rumor has been going around that says he sees everyone with the school cameras. The continuous sounds of computer keys tapping drowns everything out. The secretary is working on a report about school attendance. You begin slouching in your chair as you wait. The chairs are surprisingly comfortable for their appearance. They’re made of wood with a leather padding on the front. 

When the time comes to enter WQ’s room you walk instead of rushing in. Her room is both very welcoming and very professional. You can smell a bit of lavender when you sit down. “How can I help you today Ms.Pyrope.” Her voice is gentle, yet shows authority like a queen. “I have some problems that I need help with. I haven’t been in my right mind for a while.” She clasps her hands together. “Could you please elaborate on what these problems are. You can speak to me about anything troubling you.” You adjust yourself in the seat so you can tell her. “I have been struggling with issues about myself for a few weeks already. It’s taken a toll on my mental and physical health. I didn’t eat for a while until someone helped me.” She tries to comfort you by putting her hand on your shoulder. “Sweetie does this have something to do with your kismesis. The school has noticed that you have less like your self for a few weeks. Has he hurt you in some way.” You are shocked that she would think that John would hurt you. He wouldn’t hurt a fly and she thinks he has been hurting you. “John doesn’t hurt me.” She sits back down in her chair. “If you’re scared of him please tell me. You’re safe here where he can’t hurt you.” Why does she think he is making you like this. “No you’re wrong he hasn’t hurt me in anyway possible. What made you think he did?” “He is your kismesis and he knows how to fight. He had gotten into a fight at his last school. I thought that is what the problem was. I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions. Can you please continue with what you were saying.” She leans back into her chair with embarrassment. You didn’t know that John had gotten into a fight. “My issues started when my moirail Vriska stopped being my moirail three weeks ago. She was my everything. I had spent most of my life being there for her. I believed that we were meant to be together. It was when she told me that she would replace me for someone better I saw that I was wrong. I was the only one making an effort while she didn’t. I had grew dependent on her to help me live. I haven’t been eating right, sleeping, and caring about myself.” You start crying while telling her everything. She hands you a tissue to wipe the teal tears. “I’m glad you found someone who helped you come here. Do you need a referral to a psychiatrist or anything.” You calm yourself down. “No I’m ok. My matesprite is helping me. He is the one who helped me get here in the first place. And John is no longer my kismesis. He is my matesprite now.” As you are getting up she writes on a paper a name and a phone number. “This is the name and number for a psychiatrist. You should go see them at least for one day. I will always be here if you need any more advice.” You go outside to go home.

You see John waiting for you by his dad’s car. He is talking to someone on his phone. “Dave I don’t know what food Karkat likes. I’m pretty sure you can’t give him one of your brother’s puppets as a gift. Just because Jade liked them doesn’t mean they are an acceptable gift.” Why does Dave want to know if Karkat wants a puppet. You just ignore it and get to the car. When John sees you he ends the call with Dave after saying goodbye. “How did the visit with WQ go. Did she tell you that you need to go to a psychiatrist.” John gets in and starts the car. “Yeah she said I should at least pay this guy a visit at least. She also thought that you were the reason for me being so messed up. I was shocked that she thought you were abusing me. Does being a athlete automatically make you a bad guy in any relationship.” John starts to laugh a bit. “Terezi if I was being an ass you would bite me with your shark teeth or worse tell Karkat to yell at me.” You also start laughing. “Yeah I would do that. I would even give Karkat a book on the rules of dating.” You and John laugh for a while until you ask him about the fight. “She also thought you abusing me because you got into a fight at your last school. What makes a good boy like you start a fight.” John takes a deep breath and sighs. “I punched the guy because he was the guy my ex Emily Kims cheated on me with.” Is that why no one in John’s family really talks about her. “So you punched someone because they were messing around with your girlfriend. Everyone in your family shuns her existence now because she cheated on you. I thought she tried something shocking like stalker level stuff.” John grips the steering wheel harder. “She told the whole school that I got here pregnant when we broke up. Everyone thought she was lying like she was known to.” “I see why no one talks about her.” “That was until nine months later. She gave birth to a baby boy named John jr. She had slept with the guy to make me jealous.” The information that was just revealed to you makes so much sense. No one speaks about her because of this. “Woah. That was some shit you had to go through John. You have won The Who Has The Worst Relationship Award.” He gives a little chuckle. “Now you see Terezi there is nothing you can do to beat me. I have won and I shall celebrate by eating a bunch of gushers.” The laughter starts up again like the entire conversation about Emily didn’t just happen. As John is driving you decide to stop at a burger joint.

When you get back to the apartments you go to your room. Your roommates aren’t in the room, so you decide to put on your old dragon cloak. Whenever you’re alone you like to put on the red cloak and pretend you’re destroying a small village. It’s better when you role play with Nepeta. You were flying over a small family farms until you hear a knock from the door. You open the door to find Karkat and Sollux with a box. “Hey Terezi do you know why Dave sent me this box. I asked Sollux to look up the boxes information from the mail code on the side. He says I should ask you why he sent this.” Sollux is behind Karkat trying to hold back the loudest laugh. The box smells like a very heavily saturated rainbow. “I don’t know why Dave sent you a box. Wait I remember Dave asking John if you would like a puppet. It might be a puppet or something else entirely.” “What the fuck do I do if it’s a puppet. Do I look like a middle aged man who watches to much animated shows.” Both Karkat and Sollux walk into your room with the box. Karkat puts the box on your desk. “If you don’t know then open it Karkat. It can’t be any bad right.” The contents of the box are hilarious for you and Sollux but horrific for Karkat. The box was loaded with plush dolls with big noses and large rumps. You laughed so hard that you almost pissed you pants. Karkat just throws the box on the floor. A letter was hidden under all the puppet ass. You only see Karkat run out of the room in rage when he finishes reading the letter. Sollux picks up the box and puts all the puppets back in. “I can’t wait to put this on YouTube. Troll opens box of puppet ass and has meltdown. It’ll probably get about one thousand views before someone pulls it. My social media profiles will explode with new followers.” You suddenly get an idea. “Hey Sollux do you think you can look someone up for me.” “Yeah sure. Who do you want me to look up for you Terezi.” “Can you look up a girl named Emily Kims on all social networking platforms.” Sollux pulls out his phone and begins searching. “I don’t know why you want me to look up some chick named ohhh. Woah that is a lot of pictures of John and the girl. There is also pictures of a human baby in some. Why did you want me to look her up.” You look over at Sollux’s phone and check her out. Emily is a beautiful blonde blue eyed girl. There are pictures showing her and John together in both friendly and in intimate manner. It’s there you see a photo of a dirty blonde headed baby named John Jr. There are some messages dissing John about being a bad father. Maybe she thinks that John won’t take the public humiliation route and get back with her. Anyway now you know what the face of the unspeakable person in John’s family looks like.

 


	18. McKarkat

**Karkat**

Today is Thursday, October 23, 2014. You are currently trying to apply for job. Why is a person like yourself applying for a job right now. You need a job so you can get money to pay a fine for having explicit objects in your room. You were able to use the money you get from the government, but now you’re going to be broke for a awhile. The is question is now why did you have explicit objects in your rooms. Well it all started two days ago when you received a package from Dave Strider. You had were in the apartment’s front office when Sollux told you that you have mail. You weren’t expecting anything since you haven’t ordered anything off of the internet recently. Nonetheless you went to go see what kind of mail you had received. You were greeted with a large box covering in a very dark rainbow wrapping. Confusion was the only emotion you felt when you say the box was from Dave. You were wondering why he would send you a large gift box. You were also wondering what was inside so you asked Sollux to search the name of the company that the box was from. Sollux told you to ask Terezi what it could be because she was dating Dave’s friend John. Terezi told you it could be a puppet or something else, so you decided to open it. He had sent you a gift of ten slutty puppets and a letter asking you out to go see a movie. Normally you would have yelled at him for even thinking about asking you out, but you’re glad he did. He hasn’t made fun of you for watching romantic comedies like all your other friends have. He isn’t as bad as you thought he was in the beginning. Instead of being an insufferable prick he was a nice person who cares for others. He may act like a uncaring person who you can’t surprise, but you know he is surprised by everything. Anyway back to what you were doing.

Not many businesses near your school are willing to hire a troll with has a slight angry problem. You aren’t very busy so you check twelve places to see if they’re hiring. Of the twelve places you’ve visited you only got an interview with three. Of the three the only job that pays enough is McDonald's. You now work as a cashier at a McDonald’s near your school. It isn’t as bad as where Terezi’s roommate Fregoi works. She has recently joined your friend group after most of you went to her moirail’s house party. She lives in the shared troll apartment complex, but she is planning on moving. One of requirements for moving out of the government funded facilities is having a stable flow of income. Fregoi works as a store clerk at some department store and often gets harassed by her human coworkers regularly. Here you at least have some troll coworkers who won’t target you for being a different species. That doesn’t mean that won’t bully you on your blood color being unnatural. You’ve been called “human blood”, “unnatural mistake”, and “the troll who is trying to be human” all your life on earth. You are used to the harassment you receive by now. That’s why you are always angry. No one messes with the weird guy who is always in a bad mood. You wish you didn’t have to work, but you unfortunately need the money for food and for your hobbies.

Three days later 

Today is Sunday, October 26, 2019. You have been working at McDonald’s for about three days. The first two days were you being trained during business hours. You now have to work like you know exactly what you’re doing which isn’t to hard because you are just a cashier. You just have open the register, take orders by pushing buttons on the screen in-front of you, and hand them their change when you ring them up. The kitchen staff take care of preparing the food and handling the food off.  Your manager isn’t an asshat like other managers are. However the universe has decided to make today the worst day possible. Some middle age brunette mother was yelling at you because her crotch goblin didn’t get the toy he wanted. “Hey give my son that ninja turtles toy. He didn’t get the one he wanted. I specifically told you to put the red one in there when I ordered the meal.” You weren’t even the one who took her order, so why is she complaining to you. “I can’t do that. The toy you receive is the one you get.” She doesn’t accept your response. “Why can’t you just go to back and get me the toy.” “Lady we can’t give you a second toy. If you want another toy you have to buy another meal.” She is raising your blood pressure thru the roof. “I don’t want to buy another meal! And yes you can get me another toy you’re just being a lazy person.” “I can’t get you another toy because we have a limited number of them. Just buy another meal and I will personally get you the toy.” She decides that this is the best time to scream bloody murder. “Just me the toy you insect! You know what I want your manger!” Your manger hears her yelling and comes out of his office. “What’s the problem?” The women sees your manger and just marches towards him. “I want that employee fired for not being respectful to me. He wouldn’t give me the children’s toy that comes with every meal.” Your manger pulls her to the side and tells her something. From what you see she gets a shit eating grin on her face while your manger comes over. He whispers to you, “I told her I would mark you but I won’t. She has been a problem here for awhile so we just give into her demands. Go get the toy she wants so she can leave.” You do just that to get rid of her. She leaves the restaurant and you can finally breathe. Until someone else comes up to the counter.

The person who comes up to the ordering counter is the guy who got you into this mess. The blonde haired prick is quietly laughing at what has just happened. Dave Strider just stands there laughing until you interrupt him. “Like the little show of me getting chewed out by some woman for not obeying her demands. Don’t worry the next show will be me yelling at you.” He stops laughing and starts talking to you. “Why did you get a job at a McDonald’s. I thought you were busy watch your movies under the covers.” You look him dead center in his eyes. “I’m here because of you and your stupid puppets. I had to pay a fine for having them in my room. So unless you’re going to order food or pay me back my money I suggest you leave.” His face sifts to a worried expression. “Sorry about getting you into trouble with the puppets, but hey at least you’ll get remembered as the guy with smutppets in his room. Everyone will see you as a legend.” You give the stink eye. “Ok I’ll have a Big Mac, apple pie, apple juice, and your number.” You are shocked by his last request. “Why the he’ll would you want my number Dave. I’m busy working so I don’t have enough time to be annoyed by you.” He just says “I want to take you out to dinner and pay you back for getting you in trouble. I only pay people who I get trouble with after eating with them.” You begrudgingly agree and give him your number. The line of people waiting behind Dave are aren’t very happy. No one likes to watch the cashier become involved with someone while on the clock. You wish your shift for today would end already. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The trolls have the same outfits that shows their blood color however they are extremely visible. They are pretty much wearing colored shorts with their symbols in black.


	19. Hidden truths

**John**

Today is Monday, October 27, 2014. You are currently in your bedroom getting dressed for school. You decide on a light blue polo shirt and dark blue jeans for today. As you are getting dressed you spot your costume for Halloween on your desk. You must have forgotten to hang it back up last. It’s a long blue hoodie like outfit with a wave motif on the front. Rose made everyone a costume five years ago when you were thirteen. She has yellow hooded robes, Dave has a caped red tunic, and Jade has a black witch’s dress with coat tails. She told you that she made them after she saw them in a dream about her dead cat Jaspers. She never did get over his unfortunate death. He was killed when your nana’s joke book crushed him. It was sad because your nana also died because of the book. Your dad locked it in the safe after the small funeral. He said it was cursed. You never believed in the spiritual, but when you saw the book just fall onto Jaspers you were convinced. You stop thinking about the weirdness of past events in your life to get breakfast. Your dad has made whole grain french toast and all natural bacon omelets. Just what every normal suburban household needs to start the day off right. You eat your food like you usually do when you notice that your stepsister Rose isn’t eating. Instead she is staring daggers at her mother across the table. You wonder why.

You head off to school with Rose in your dad’s car. Rose is looks angry. The if looks could kill Rose would have committed mass genocide on all the people in morning traffic. You ask her why she is mad once you get to the school parking lot. “Hey Rose why were you glaring at the road? Is something wrong?” Rose turns to you annoyed. “John it’s none of your business if I’m upset. I have the right to have my own secrets and I choose to deal with them by myself.” “I was just trying to help Rose.” Her face is now contorted with anger you have never seen. “John do I look like a lost idiot needing you to save me. Do you think you’re some amazing hero who is going to save everyone. Do I look like a damsel in distress who has to cry until some guy has to come save me.  You already have a train wreck for a girlfriend John. I know about her being mentally depressed and unstable. She is just a ticking time bomb waiting for you to dump her so she can go off the deep end. She is heavily dependent on you John. She’ll just push you away like she did with Vriska, so just break up with her as soon as possible.” What the absolute hell is going on. The Rose you know would never say anything or talk about someone like that. You want to tell Rose that she is being a bit bitchy, but she left the car in a sprint. You get out of car after a few minutes of contemplating what has just happened. Rose just insulted both you and Terezi. She always insults people using psychological evaluations of them. Something serious must be bothering her because she only acts that way when something in her life is wrong. She thinks everyone is against her when that happens.

You leave the parking lot and go to your locker to put away your phone until the end of the day. Rose isn’t at her locker talking to Kanaya when you go check on her. You search for her to no avail. She isn’t anywhere on campus from the look of it. The morning bell rings for class to begin, so you quit the search for the time being. You think you might ask Jade if she knows anything about Rose. Unfortunately, Jade is at her house with the flu. Why did she have to get sick at a time like this doesn’t she know that you need her help. You mentally facepalm after hearing how spoiled you sound right now. The teacher walks into class while you put your head down. No one bothers you during the entirety of school. At least until someone notices you in need of some help at the end. “Hey John is something wrong.” You turn to see Terezi standing behind you. She has gained some weight back from eating, but she still has some trouble keeping it down. “Yeah I’m fine.” Terezi doesn’t take that as an answer. “John we are matesprites you know you can tell me anything. If I had to reveal my problems to someone then so do you.” You sigh because you know she is right. “I’m worried about Rose. She yelled at me earlier today and I don’t know why.” “You’re just stressed out because Rose is mad at you. John not everyone is going to be happy all the time. “Terezi she said some things that were very offensive, and she only acts that way when something serious happened.” Terezi takes you outside and sits next to you at one of the benches. “I doubt Rose could say anything very offensive. She is as mean as you are, which isn’t even a considerable amount.” “She said that you’ll go off the deep end if I break up with you.”  Terezi looks at your eyes very deeply. “Are you going to break up with me John.” You see Terezi at the brink of tears waiting for your answer. “No. I know that you love me and I look you too.” You kiss her forehead and embrace her. Enough people have broken her heart by leaving her. May a joke will cheer her up. “Anyway it’s not like you can find anyone more funny than me.” She laughs a bit. “Are you sure about that John. I have met plenty of people people more funny than you. However none of them were willing to date me, so I gotta settle for you.” The two of you continue to hug and kiss each other like some romance movie. While this is happening a certain violet eyed blonde girl is having a tantrum in a unused room.

* * *

**Rose**

You are having a major meltdown in a unused storage room. Why is someone who is usually calm and collected like you having a meltdown? It might have to do with you finding out that your mother lied to you for your entire life. Yesterday when you were looking for your old therapist journal in your attic you found an old box that belonged to your mother. It was gifted to her by her mother when she was your age. You had decided to open it to see what was inside when you found something. It was a letter addressed to a man by the name of Dillon Strider. You remember hearing Dave say his dad’s name was Dillon. You wanted to ask your mother about the letter when curiosity got the best of you. You opened it to find out that your mother lied to you and you’re grandparents. She knew exactly who was your father. The letter said.

Dear Dillon

This is Roxy Lalonde. I wish to inform you about something that needs your attention. I have recently learned that I am pregnant. It is yours. I want to ask if you could allow me to live with you. My parents are very old school and will probably kick me out for being pregnant and unmarried. Since this is your child I want you to have a relationship with her. I remember the nights you told me about wanting to be with me. We could get married and live happily together. Maybe after the baby is born we could give her some siblings. Yours truly Roxy Lalonde <3

Your mother told you that she didn’t know your father at all. Every time you asked her about your dad she lied to you in your face. You run to where your mother is writing her report for her astronomy job. She sees you and questions you. “Oh Rosey there you are. I was just about to call you. I wanted to know if you needed anything when I go to the store.” You stare at her dumbfounded. She acts like she has done nothing wrong. “Yeah mom do you know what I need?” She shakes her head. “If I knew what you wanted I wouldn’t have bought you that kale smoothie last week.” You walk up to her and look her in her eyes. “I want answers mom. I want you to tell me who my father is and don’t you dare lie to me.” She was about to speak until she saw the letter. She starts to cry and reach for you. “I’m so sorry Rosey. I wanted to tell you but I couldn’t.” Your face morphs into pure anger as you yell at her. “Why didn’t you tell me? Every night I asked you where my dad was you lied to me! You lied straight to my face for 15 years. I don’t know what to believe now.” Your mother is still sobbing but she can at least talk. “I didn’t tell you because you were to young to know the truth.” “What is the truth then!” She flinches in her seat but you don’t think it’s genuine. “When I found out that I was pregnant with you I went to see your dad. We had been dating for a few years by that point. I had met him at a college party when I was young and dumb.He told me that he loved me. As I was about to give him his letter I saw his family. He had a pregnant wife and a young son that he never told me about. He saw me and immediately told me to get out. I told him that I was pregnant. He told me to abort you because he didn’t want another child. He hit me on my face when I told him I wanted to keep you. I ran home where my parents told me to get out. I stayed with my friend Ali after that.” You stared at her blankly. “I see. However I don’t know if I can forgive you for not telling me when I was younger.” She continues crying until you hear the front door open. Your stepdad or John must have come home. It wouldn’t be good to see you angry and your mother crying in her room.

That is what has you in your foul mood. You glared at your mother all morning and yelled at John on the way to school. You do feel guilty about yelling at your mom and John, but yo need some time to adjust. A broken broomstick lays on the floor as a victim of your rage. It fell when you entered the room and thus had to be the first one to be broken. Some bottles of cleaning fluid are scattered around the place. One on the floor leaking and one in a shelf of copying paper. You stand in a destitute room being watched by someone. “You sure had a lot of rage for such a lady.” Kanaya is at the door frame looking at the mess. You just embarrassed yourself in front of a girl who you might have feelings for. “Yeah I had to work through some anger I had.” She has the look of someone who has experienced the same problem you have. You grab a mop and start cleaning. “Do you think you can help me clean up my mess. It will take only a few minutes.” She nods and helps you clean up the storage room. No one talks for the duration of the time it takes to clean a rather large storage room. You text John to say you’ll get a ride home with someone. Maybe he won’t be worried about your outburst in the car. Terezi didn’t deserve to be bashed by you like that. Kanaya and you talk for a while before she has to get on her bus. You walk home to find your mother crying on your stepdad’s shoulders. You see Dave’s brother Dirk pacing in the living room. John’s dad was the only real positive male role model so you often refer to him as dad. “What happened dad.” John is on the couch with Dave with their hands on their heads. When everyone notices you it gets chaotic. Dave is the first one to speak. “Rose Your mom just told me that you’re my little sister. I knew that we looked like lost siblings, but this is crazy.” Dave is having his own little mental breakdown next to John. Dirk walks towards you. “I’m happy to know I have a little sister. Your mom did the right thing when she didn’t listen to my father. He was very abusive and would probably have made you want to die.” You move away from him quickly. “I’m sorry but I don’t feel very comfortable right now. I want to be left alone for the time being.” They respected your request to leave you alone. You fell asleep when you got to your bed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I put Roxy as older than Dirk because Dirk is just Dave’s older brother.


	20. Jade

**Jade**

Today is Tuesday, October 28, 2014. You are currently at your house in bed throwing up. You have been sick since Sunday morning. It might be the uncooked seafood you had with your troll friend Helena. She is a seadweller, so she always makes fish dishes when you go to her place for dinner. Gredia usually makes more regular side dishes that you eat. However you felt guilty about never eating her food so you caved in. Worst mistake you’ve made in your life and you’ve made a lot of mistakes. Your grandpa gave you some diarrhea medication to help your stomach. He is at work doing what army generals do while you empty your stomach in a bucket. It honestly hurts so you start crying out loud. This gets the attention of your big pure white malamute, Bec. He comes into your room and tries to cuddle with you. He is your service dog because you have social anxiety and PTSD from being left alone. When your parents died you were put into a shitty foster care house at age six. For two years you were abused by your foster parents and siblings. You were put into a cage, not fed, and hit almost daily. When your grandpa got custody you were a wreak. He got Bec only a week later as a puppy. Your life has only gotten better, but you do occasionally get flashbacks of that place. The foster house was investigated, but the parents had managed to escape. To this day they haven’t been found yet.

The day continues on like clockwork until 1:34 pm. By that time you have to get up and feed and let Bec outside to play. The bucket of your bodily fluids sits on the floor next to your bed. You plan take the bucket to toss out the contents. The sludge of your protein breakfast gets flushed down the toilet like the waste it is. Your bathroom is a little messy since you had to wash Bec. You decide to get a small snack from the kitchen. Some bread and water is always recommend for stomach problems. Maybe pop some indigestion pills for the long haul. What a plan for a wild eighteen year old girl skipping school. You let out the loudest sigh you have and sit in front of the T.V. A pile of classic werewolf movies sits on the small coffee table. Little Red Riding Hood is on the top of the stack. Maybe you might watch it again for the thirteenth time this week. You have always been interested in the mythical world of beastly people. The feeling of belonging and acceptance fills you whenever you put on your dog ears. That is how you found out you were a furry. Your friends and family accepted your revelation because they already knew about it before you. Aww what friends you have in life. You hear a familiar ringing sound coming from under the cushions. Bec runs inside the house when he hears it. It’s your phone.

There are over twenty missed phone calls and ten text messages. All the phone calls are from both your friends John and Dave. None from Rose which is weird. If John and Dave have been trying to reach you it must’ve been very important. Rose is always the first one to call when something happens, so you decide to call them. “Hey guys what happened.” Dave is the first one to answer. “Jade everyone went ballistic yesterday. Rose found out that me and her share the same father.” What. “I’m sorry could you repeat that.” John answers instead of Dave. “On Sunday, Rose found a letter her mom wrote to her dad but never delivered. She read it and found out that she and Dave are related.” Woah. You knew Rose and Dave looked very similar, but you didn’t know that they were siblings. “Rose told you about the letter.” Dave answers your question “No, her mom did. She called me and my brother to come over to their house to talk. Me and bro thought that they wanted to tell us about a trip we could join them on. When we got there John and his dad were trying to calm her down. When she told us about her telling  my dad about the pregnancy she broke down. I knew my dad was an asshat but to be told that he said Rose should have been aborted makes me mad.” You’re also mad about how much of an asshat Dave’s biological dad is. You give Dave’s older brother Dirk more respect than before. “I want to go see your dad and kick his ass. Rose is one of the best people that I know and to think that someone wouldn’t want her is crazy. She is one of greatest friends you can have. Dave let’s find your dad and kick his ass.” Dave starts laughing at what you’ve just said. “I wish we could but both my parents are currently in jail for drug trafficking charges. Serves them right.” You continue talking for awhile about how much of a douche Dave’s dad is. When you end the call it’s 4:30pm. Bec is laying down by your feet.

You call in sick again today for work. You work as an assistant at your local veterinary hospital. The manger knows you wouldn’t call out of work unless it was serious. Your love for any animal is unparalleled to anything else. Animal care has pushed its way into every aspect of your life. You want to be a veterinarian when you grow up. Dogs have always been your speciality. As you think about your life goals Bec drags a pile of clothes out of your room. You notice it’s his costume for Halloween. He is going to be a doggy huntsman while you’ll be a werewolf little riding hood. You can’t be the basic girl who buys a costume from a store and just wears it. It has to have your own personal touch. Bec lets go of his costume when you start tugging it away. You take it back to your room and hang it up, so to avoid Bec destroying it. Maybe you should take a nap before your grandpa gets back. Rest is always needed when you’re sick. That’s how your day was.


	21. Halloween punch

**Terezi**

Today is Thursday, October 30, 2014. You’re currently hanging out with your boyfriend John Egbert  at the McDonalds next to the school. John is eating a quarter pounder while you are eating chicken nuggets with a variety of sauces. Sweet and sour with tangy barbecue is your favorite sauce combo. You see your friend Karkat is working at the register. By working you mean arguing with Dave about where they should go for dinner. It’s like watching an old married couple when they argue with each other. “Dave we aren’t going to Uncle Sam’s BarBQ. The food is to greasy. I feel like at any moment I could die of clogged arteries by just standing there.” “Karkat it’s not that bad. At least you could die knowing you had the best BBQ in Maple Valley.” Karkat stops working on the ordering machine to talk. “I would not be remembered as the guy who was found dead in a BBQ restaurant. Why can’t we go to China Harbor. It much more cheaper and won’t give you type ten diabetes from drinking the tea.” Dave isn’t letting up. “Karkat China Harbor is filled with annoying hipsters. Who are trying to make you support their overpriced vegan food business. You don’t listen to Jade talking about nature, yet you think a bunch of snotty hipsters are good.” Like you said an old married couple. Who probably has a few adult children and grandchildren. 

Once you and John finish your food you head out. In the car John asks what your plans are for tomorrow. “Hey Terezi what are you planning on doing for Halloween.” You contemplate that question for awhile. You would always go out with Vriska to rob kids of their candy. However since Vriska got sent to Felt Correctional Center you don’t know. “I don’t have any real plans to go out tomorrow. How about you John?” John smiles a bit. “I was going to go trick or treating with my cousins. Maybe prank a few people on the journey around the neighborhood. You can join me since Maria has been asking me about you.” You are glad that John wants you to meet his family. That means he trusts you and won’t leave you without a second thought. “Yeah, sure. I could spare some of my time to join you in the pranking of unaware civilians.” John knows you’re joking so he just laughs all the way back to your apartment. When you do get home John gives you a hug and a quick kiss on the head. You are few inches shorter than him, so have to stand on your toes to kiss him. John hops into his dad’s car and drive off while you walk into the building. The apartments may be somewhat shitty, but that’s what gives it personality. You greet the same old front desk worker you do everyday. As you go to talk to him you get pushed onto the floor. The person who has run into is none other than your friend Kanaya. “What the hell Kanaya you don’t have to body check me.” Kanaya doesn’t seem to be notice that she ran into you. “KANAYA!” That gets her attention. “Oh sorry about that Terezi. I have just been distracted with my current work project.” Kanaya works at a tailor/dress shop in downtown. She is a manger who does dress designs frequently for customers. “Well ok. Could you please watch out for people who are walking around.” You just go straight into the elevators on the side ignoring people.

When you get to your room you see both your roommates Fregoi and Ramona talking. The topic of their conversation is what they want to do for Halloween. They have a random assortment of costumes on laid out on the their beds. They are likely trying to figure out which one will be the best for tomorrow. Fregoi is wearing a queen bee costume with a fake antenna headband. Ramona is wearing a very revealing cowgirl costume with two fake guns. You'll use your old redglare  flarping outfit you made with Vriska when you were younger. It’s the only other costume you have. And it looks like you put in work into getting ready. Your dragon cloak being the only piece is just shouting your lazy person. You want to look presentable to people. John will probably have an outfit with a lot of pockets to hold his pranking equipment. You have never met someone who can think of so many ways to get at someone. When you and John were still kismesises he pranked you by placing cotton balls soaked in fish oil all over school. It smelled pretty bad since you have a heightened sense of smell. You kept gagging all day until a teacher told you to go to the nurse’s office. You had missed a few classes because of that, but at least he removed it before school began the next day. The knew it was him causing all the pranks, yet they could never punish him. He was a sneaky bastard. But he is your sneaky bastard so you think you should get him something to show how much he means to you. What should you get him he doesn’t like dice or olive pirate movies so you’re dumbfounded. However right now you need to do your homework and sleep.

* * *

  **John**

 Today is Friday, October 31, 2014. It’s currently Halloween today, so you have a full day to do what you love. Pranking random people on the street while hanging out with your family and friends. You are going trick or treating with your baby cousin vinny and your girlfriend Terezi. The school is allowing the students to wear their costumes if they are appropriate. Which shouldn’t be a problem since AR has made it his life’s mission to prevent inappropriate outfits. He enlisted Dave to make posters to inform the students not to do it. All the posters were of course typed in comic sans with the most glitched jpeg stock photo over forty hours of research could find. Karkat helped in the production the poster so a majority are targeted at freshmen guys. Dave will probably stretch the rule to its fullest extent by wearing a dress. Not just any normal dress a dress made out of pictures of his webcomic. Then again he might not. He doesn’t like to be predictable in his special outfits. You are predictable when you want to be such as wearing the same blue hooded robes you have for the last three years. Time to shine and head to school. You go downstairs to see your father in a vampire costume making scary pancakes. Your stepmom is in a cat-woman costume helping him. Both her and Rose will probably stay home watching horror movies while your dad gives candy. You get your breakfast and get ready for school.

The school has been decorated by the art club since after school yesterday. AR is standing at the front of the school to catch any students who aren’t dressed properly. Jade is at one of the benches adjusting her little red werewolf riding hood ears. Dave is wearing a white shirt with the word costume written in sharpie and talking to Karkat. Karkat is in a grey crab costume with tiny pinchers. Rose ran off in her orange hooded robes to hangout with Kanaya. Kanaya is wearing a vampire costume like your dad except her’s has jade green highlights. Tavros is dressed in a Peter Pan costume talking to Nepeta and Equius. Nepeta is dressed in a lion costume while Equius has a bipedal centaur costume. Gamzee is a clown. Feferi and Eridan are Ariel from the little mermaid and aquaman respectively. Sollux is a minion from despicable me. Aradia is a cyborg like terminator. However no Terezi. You look around the courtyard for Terezi but to no avail. You are about to check inside when Jade stops you. “Hey John have you seen Nepeta around here. Me and her are supposed to finish decorating the school.”  “Yeah I saw her talking to Tavros over there. Have you seen Terezi anywhere.” She grabs her messenger bag off the table. “No I haven’t seen her around here. You should probably check inside the school.” Jade runs off leaving you alone. You go inside like you originally planned and then was told to. Inside you see a few students talking by their lockers without Terezi, so you go check her locker. As you were walking you see her talking to someone. That someone being a male olive blooded troll from the derse class. He gives her something small in her hands. Whatever it is must be very important and sentimental because she stashes it in her pocket and smiles. He leaves her and she opens her locker to put away her cane. You approach her with utmost care not to alarm her. “Hey Terezi.” She jumps into your arms on reflex. “Ahh! John you ass. Why did you have to scare me? I could have hit you if I had something in my hands.” Terezi it’s Halloween, so it’s the best time to be giving people scares.” You are laughing while Terezi is scowling at you. Did you hurt her? “Terezi are you ok? I’m sorry if I hurt you by jumpscaring you.” You are now hugging her while you hear her about to cry. Your heart is beating faster than normal because you’re worried that you hurt her. As she’s in your arms she smacks you. “How about that John?” Now the both of you are laughing like crazy.

 The school day passes in seconds without anything eventful happening. You give Terezi the information on where to go, so you can go with your cousin. You meet Terezi there. You are at your aunt Lucy’s house because your grandfather Leo wanted you to take your little cousin Vinny trick or treating. His mother Lucy is busy at work and his older siblings are at a party. Vinny is dressed as a old fashioned mechanic. No doubt because of your grandpa. When vinny sees Terezi he starts blabbing to her about everything. “Are you Johnny’s girlfriend? Mommy said you aren’t pregnant like the last one.” Did some higher power say you should be punished like this. “Yes I’m your cousin’s girlfriend. Let’s hope the second part doesn’t come true.” She immediately starts looking at you. You get red in the face and start mispronouncing your words. “I d..don’t know what you m..mean.” Terezi starts laughing at your misery with her soft yet sharp voice. You begin your quest to acquire candy for your cousin Vinny. You wish he had a filter because he just keeps telling Terezi what he has heard from you about her. “John said you looked gremlin on the first day of school. Then he said you were the most beautiful woman he had ever met.” You give him a little tug on his collar to tell him to shut up. You don’t need an overconfident Terezi right now hang all your words over you. She is all smiles right now. Vinny gets tired as the moon gets higher in the night sky. You take him home where your grandparents are taking staying until you get back. When you get there they want to meet Terezi in person. Your grandmother speaks first. “Ohh what a beautiful young lady Johnny has. He always brings pretty girls. What’s your name.” Oh god she’s drunk. She doesn’t usually sound like some elderly woman with Alzheimers. She isn’t an alcoholic or drinks regularly. She just gets drunk very quickly because of her body weight and low alcohol tolerance. “My name is Terezi Pyrope and I’m a teal blooded troll.” Your grandfather speaks. “Well it’s good to meet you Teresia. How did you meet our grandson Johnathan.” He can drink it’s just he can’t hear all to well at times. “Grandpa it’s not Teresia it’s Terezi, and we met at school.” Terezi move to get in front of you. “We met when he lost a bet that was rigged on every step. We dates as enemies for a while then one day he chases me and asks me out.” Your grandma just passed out from how drunk she is. Your grandfather just nods and waves goodbye. You and Terezi leave the house when you get a message Jade telling you about a the party your cousins are at. Terezi says she wants to go since she has never been to a human college Halloween party. You hop in the bus and go join your friend and cousins to celebrate Halloween with total strangers. 

 

* * *

**Terezi**

The house were the party is being held is gigantic. It looks like a stereotypical frat house in college movies. A large modern industrial apartment complex with all their lights on. Multiple guys standing near their cars talking to girls who are shyly flirting with them. Upon arriving someone tells you to have some of the punch that’s in the middle of the party. John tells you that you should come hangout with him and his older cousin Isaac. You tell him that you’ll hangout with Jade when you find her. He doesn’t want to leave, but you managed to convince him. You keep your word and search for Jade. Jade is nowhere to be found in the public areas of the house. She isn’t known for being unseen or mute. You say screw it and grab two cups of the fruit punch that’s in the center of the room for yourself and John. You give John his cup. “Hey John I got us some juice. I tried to find Jade but it looks like she has already left with some guy.” You both take a sip of the punch. John is the first to speak. “Thanks Terezi. Wow that pretty strong. What the hell did they put into the fucking punch.” Did John just curse in front of you. Today must be very special in some way. You walk away from John because the scent of vanilla pulls you towards a room. You see a lot of white smoke coming out of that room. When someone opens the door you see a bunch of people sitting on the floor sucking on a large vaping station. That must be why it smells so good. A vape room or as Karkat would put it a room of douchebags sucking on black stick that emit cancer. He might not be wrong. Those guys have douche written on them both figuratively and literally in marker. As you walk away you start feeling lightheaded and dizzy. You just hang around the party until you see someone you didn’t think you would see. You see John’s ex girlfriend Emily Kims in a cheerleader uniform. It’s from the school John went to before were he said they broke up because it’s the same emblem as his old letterman jacket. She is pretending to talk to someone while starring at John’s younger cousin Maria. Did she come to this party to stalk John’s family. Rose was right she is a crazy girl for John.

You think about approaching her, but she notices you looking at her and comes towards you. “Who the hell are you? Don’t you know trolls aren’t allowed in this party. The planners don’t want any insect infesting the house.” Ohh great she’s racist. How the he’ll did she ever date John who isn’t a jackass and who’s father is pro-troll. “I can go wherever I please you asshat. You don’t know what I can do.” She rolls her eyes at you with the most annoyed expression. “I say who can and can’t come into this party. My brother is the one in charge of organizing this party. And he knows how much I hate to see trash when I party.” You can see why Vriska got sent to Felt Correctional Center. The wanting for her to receive pain is there. “If I’m trash then how do you look at yourself in the mirror when you wake up. I hear it’s not just your looks that are trash. You got knocked up with some guy on the football team and he didn’t want you. Then you tried pawning the child as your boyfriend’s when he dumped you.” You start laughing like crazy. She doesn’t like what said so she throws her water bottle at you. It was open so you’re now soaked in her water. “You don’t know anything about me freak. I know that you’re sad and alone because there’s no way in hell you have a boyfriend. I don’t see any other troll here, so you must be single. You must be a depressed that no one loves you because I can see you’re anorexic.” She hits to close to home for you to forgive her. You are about to hit her when you hear John call her name angrily. “Emily! What the hell do you think you’re doing.” Maria is stand next to John. She must have told him that Emily had approached you. Emily is startled by John’s voice. You were too John has never yell like that. Emily takes this chance to badmouth you by playing the victim. “Ohh thanks for saving me from this troll. She is dangerous. She was going to attack me like the feral animal she is. Could you please get her out of here.” John nods his head and turns to face you with his arms around your shoulders. “You gonna comes with me to breakfast tomorrow morning.” Wow smooth move John. He then turns to everyone and tells them, “Hey everyone this girl is my girlfriend Terezi Pyrope.” Most people gasp at the revelation while the others who are drunk don’t care. Emily starts sputtering insults at you. “You’re dating my boy..friend you bitch. He can’t love you be..cause you’re a d..disgusting troll who looks ungodly.” John just kisses you and tries to takes you out of the party. However you fall on your face and get knocked out. 

You wake in John’s room with a bad hangover. You’re cuddling him like your life depended on you being attached to him. You take notice of the items in John’s room. Like The fan in his room is on high making the room much cooler. He knows you get overheated because of your blood color being colder than a human. Your comfort was taken care of by him. You adjust yourself in his arms which are super muscular. How does he have this much muscle for a prankster. He wakes up. “Terezi are you ok.” He sounds very groggy right now. “Yeah sorry John. My head hurts right now, so could you please keep your voice down. Can you tell me what happened?” He pulls you closer to him and whispers. “The punch the you got us at the party was spiked with a lot of alcohol. We both drunk and you happened to get into a fight with Emily. Maria told me you were in trouble, so I ran to see what was happening. Emily had thrown her water bottle at you and I confronted her when she insulted you. We were leaving when you suddenly fell over. My cousin took us to my house because he didn’t know where you lived. I carried you to my bed and you immediately started crying while hugging me. I fell asleep and here we are.” He missed some key points like why are you wearing one of his shirts and where is your costume. You want to ask but you get your answers when you see it next to John. “Oh is that what happened. We got drunk and started a fight with your ex. You didn’t ask me out in front of a whole frat house of drunk college kids.” His cheeks get a beautiful scarlet red that makes you want to lick it. So you do. “Wow Egbert your face has best red that I have tasted.” He pushes you away but you fight him back. He ends up grabbing you by your horns that sends chills down your spine.Troll horns are extremely sensitive because you use them for navigating dark areas as grubs. They normally lose some of the nerves later on when you’re older but you never did. You were blinded at a young age so you never lost the sensitivity. You let out a few soft moans and start panting like a dog. “Sorry I forgot that troll’s have very sensitive horns. Are you ok?” You nod to him and try to speak. “Yeah I’m fine (ahh) just don’t forget about it. It’s highly inappropriate in public John.” He gets even red in the cheeks than before. “Well sorry. You’re just so weird that I think you are possibly insane, but I’m even more insane about loving you.” You catch your breath.You pull him close enough to be face to face. “Be carful John. If you continue admitting your love for me like this then your chatterbox of a cousin vinny will be telling me about your marriage proposal before you do.”  The both of you laugh and go back to sleep. You continue to cuddle with John because he is warm and you love him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I continue using the exiles initials or should I use the names I have for them. 
> 
> There will be a wave of background information and details about the lives of the others. Rose and Dave will get their troll lovers. Jade will enter a unlikely situation no one thought about. Vriska will probably come back in some way. Families will be made and broken. The mayor will have his epic showdown.


	22. After party shockers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have decided to use the names of the exiles that I came up with.  
> WV-William Val  
> PM-Penny Messenger  
> AR-Aaron Ranger  
> WQ-Wanda Queen

> **Joel**

Today is Saturday, November 1, 2014. You are tired from a mostly sleepless night. Yesterday you were with your wife and stepdaughter celebrating Halloween by giving out candy. Your wife Roxy though it would be good idea to watch horror movies when kids would come and ring the doorbell. It resulted in all the popcorn being thrown into the air. The kids who were outside waiting for their candy weren’t the slightest bit sorry. Rose was holding onto Roxy with every fiber of her being when the bell rung. You had to sit outside with the candy bowl after the second time. It was amusing to say the least. The amount of trick or treaters died out as the night grew darker. Your son John should have already have gotten back from his aunts by now. He only volunteered to take his little cousin on his mother’s side out. Vinny’s older siblings went to a party since John promised to take their brother that night. You check your phone to see if he called you. He didn’t call but he texted you that he was going to a party with with his other cousins and friend. At least you know where he was last night instead of here. He probably got home late last night because he had to take Maria home. You do remember hearing the door open early in the morning, but you thought it was Rose visiting her cats gave. He is probably sleeping in his room right now. You go upstairs and down the hall to John’s door. A feeling of uncertainty comes over as you ponder if you should open the door or just leave. You ignore the feeling for confirmation that your son is safe in his room. You open the door slowly to not disturb him when suddenly the door hits something. That something is a blind man cane. Why is there a blind man cane in your son’s room. No one in your house is blind or knows anyone blind except John’s girlfriend Terezi. She doesn’t use a cane because of her powerful synesthesia. He has said she navigates the world by scent and sound, and you have never seen her use a cane. So it leaves the question who’s cane is it and why is it here. You investigate this matter further by opening the door the whole way. The next thing you see is a blue and red outfit on the floor. It to small for John, but it looks like it could possibly fit Rose. Now you’re worried about why there’s a girl costume and a cane in your son’s room. You’re still standing at the doorframe looking at all this. You move your eyes up to John’s bed. Oh how you prayed he would be alone in his bed or at least next to a friend. Instead you see him in bed with his troll girlfriend Terezi. She is wearing one of his shirts that is practically hanging on her shoulder. They’re hugging each under the covers. You want to keep your cool, so you don’t wake up the whole neighborhood. Just close the door and go downstairs to start on breakfast. 

The morning continues as usual as you start working on breakfast. Your wife wakes up and joins you in cooking the food. She also gets a little frisky with your behind which is making you feel uneasy. It would be appreciated on any other day, but today with you seeing John next to Terezi in bed it’s weird. What if John and Terezi were also get frisky with each other yesterday. If they did you hope John used protection like you taught him. Can trolls and humans produce offspring with each other? That’s a question science has yet to answer at this time. Nonetheless he better have been safe if they participated in those activities. Then again maybe they just fell asleep with Terezi in John’s clothes. Weirder things have happened. Such as your mother’s vase always fall despite being supported on the fireplace by numerous objects. Then there’s Jasper’s death by being crushed under your mother’s joke book that also killed her. You should probably burn it when you get the chance. Supernatural superstitions have always been relevant to you. Just focus on cooking breakfast Joel. Thirty minutes have pasted. You begin to hear the tapping of footsteps descend on the stairs. All the teens are sitting in the dining room like nothing is wrong. Terezi is now however wearing one of John’s jackets. It reaches her for whatever reason. Roxy notices Terezi’s presence and greets her like an other guest. “Oh hi Terezi. I didn’t know you were here.” Terezi looks very tired pained. “ Yeah, John let me crash here because I passed out at a party. I’m a little hungover because someone spiked the drinks yesterday.” John nods his head along with Terezi. You are a little disappointed in John for going to a party where alcohol was available. But at least they came out and said it. “John I thought you said you would be back after you took your cousin out.” John straightens himself. “I was coming back until Jade asked us to come over. I sent you a message about the party.” You know he sent you a message yesterday, but you didn’t respond back. Out of corner of your eye you see Rose comes out of the kitchen with two cups of coffee. When did she get up? “Here drink this. It will help with the hangover you have.” They both take a drink but only Terezi spits out her drink. “Uhh that’s way to bitter. How do people drink this in the morning like nothing.” Rose shrugged. Everyone eats the waffles and eggs that you and Roxy prepared. It isn’t until Rose ask why Terezi is in John’s jacket when it gets awkward. “Hey Terezi why are you in John’s sports jacket.” Both John and Terezi get tense. “I’m in his jacket because I don’t have any other clothes. I’m wearing one of his shirts under here.” Now you get the chance to ask the question that has been bothering you all morning. “Why are you only dressed in John’s clothes. I checked the room earlier and I saw that the both of you were sleeping next to each other. I told John to give you the guest room if you needed to crash here. We don’t need another troublemaker as your girlfriend!” Terezi is trying to sink into her chair as you yell at her. John protects her by arguing with him. “I’m sorry dad, but she needed me. When we went to that party we saw Emily and she tried bullying Terezi. Emily ruined Terezi’s costume by throwing her drink at her. We left the party, however Terezi passed out when she fell on the floor. Issac took us here because he didn’t know Terezi’s address and I was too drunk to remember.”

Oh they ran into that girl. She ruined John’s academic life when she told the whole school that John knocked her up. It was two weeks after they broke up when she announced it. They had dated for four years, so everyone thought it might have been true when she started showing. Hell even you believed her until it came out with the wrong skin color and blood type. John has a little bit of a carmel color, but that baby was darker than him and she was Snow White. You found out it was the wrong blood type when you tried to donate blood to it. Why did you try donating blood? You tried because the baby was sick and needed surgery for it’s lungs. You had ordered a DNA test when it came out of surgery. Results said John was zero percent that child’s father. You did expect this could happen because she did cheat on him. But you didn’t want to take a chance on missing out on your grandson’s birth. That was two years ago and you haven’t looked back. She still tried to pass it off as John’s even when Dave hung up posters that showed the DNA results. She left school when both Rose and Jade showed a picture of her and the actual baby’s father kissing. You are still trying to figure out how they did it. You offer to take Terezi home as an apology since she is crying. You might have been a little bit too rough on her. You try to console her when you hear your work phone start ringing. It’s your friend William. He quickly tells you to meet him at town hall on Sunday. 

* * *

**Jacob**

Your name is Jacob Harley. You are an important general in the United States Army. As a general you must give your opinion about choices that may impact national security which is a long and straining job. Today is one of the days you get off. You were enjoying your day off in your comfy memory foam bed when you get a call. Your granddaughter Jade needs you to pick her up. She is at some friend’s house in the Skia Tech campus. She went to a Halloween party near there yesterday. This is a common occurrence for Jade since she has mild case of narcolepsy. It was severe when she was younger because she would just pass out all the time. Now it just pops up out of the blue at random. She could have it one day then again two months later. You are accustomed to this by now but you still get angry when she goes out. She told you that she was going to hangout with her troll friend Gredia. Knowing her she lied and went to a party with her other friends. She did admit to going to a college party, yet she betrayed your trust. This is worse than your sister pretending she doesn’t know you all those years ago. When you were a young teenager you ran away from home. You had to escape from your mother who was very controlling, but you abandoned your sister Jane. You changed your last name to Harley after your family dog and joined the army during World War Two. Your mother was a manipulative woman who came from very old money. She wouldn’t have approved of her son fighting in the war. She would have had you pulled out before you even got to training camp. You rose threw the ranks in the army quickly due to your go get em attitude and proficiency. You met your wife Alice who was a nurse at the time in the field. When the war was over you proposed to Alice and went to visit your sister. She still lived in the old house from your childhood. You were expecting to be hugged to death by her and given the death stare by your mother. What happened only scared you. Your sister said she knew exactly who you were but she didn’t care and your mother had died. That was a lie because it was your sister that died. Your mother in her full malicious glory was reincarnated in your sister’s body. You said goodbye to her one last time and went on to live your life. You and Alice lived happily with two children. Then tragedy struck like the big girl she is. Jade’s parents died in a gas explosion where they worked when she six years old. Her aunt suddenly disappeared without a trace. Both you and Alice tried to take her in but the court said you were unfit because you were away for a long time. She was put into the hellhole of the foster care system. All of this put a strain on your wife Alice. She couldn’t take it and died two months later. You did get custody of Jade two years later, but by then she wasn’t the same wild child she was. Her previous foster parents were cruel unjust. The house she lived in brought memories of invading POW camps back in the war. She was diagnosed with PTSD and anxiety, so you got her a service dog. A small white puppy that became the big fur ball that eats all your steaks off your plate. The sign for Skia Tech is now in view.

You find Jade sitting on a bench outside of the student dorms on the east side of campus. When she gets into the car you get a lot of scents. You can smell copious amounts alcohol, sweat, and axe body spray. Either she turned into a college boy or she partied with the wrong people. You’re hoping for the former. Jade is quiet for the whole car ride back home which is a little unusual. Bec sees the car pulling into the driveway from his spot next to the window and starts running. The picture definition of speed is him running to Jade. You ask her what she was up to last night. “Hey Jade do you have some time to talk for a bit.” She shrugs at you. “Good. Why did you lie to me about where you were going. You said you were going to your friend Gredia to hangout. You never said anything about going to a college party.” She stops playing with Bec to his disappointment. “I’m sorry grandpa. My friend who is John’s cousin told me about a party that was fun. I didn’t do anything illegal like drugs, so you don’t have to worry about me. I just drank a beer with a friend who wasn’t Gredia.” Does she think you’re some kid who doesn’t know anything. “Jade I know for sure you didn’t just have a beer. You went to a college party beer isn’t an acceptable drink choice for anyone. There is also the matter of you not wearing your items of clothing. I know you have been partaking in the pleasures of the carnal nature.” Jade is taken back by your bluntness. “So what if I had sex while I was there! I now how to use a rubber like everyone else during sex! I’m not some little virgin that you have to take care of!” She stomps inside of the house the whole way to her room. You wish Alice was still alive she always knew what to do with the kids. Lucky you do know someone who can help you with troubled youth. You will call that person right now. “Hey captain Harley. This is Penny.” Awww just the girl you needed to hear. “Hello Penny I require your assistance with something.” “Sure what do you need help with. Did you forget to reserve your parking spot at the base again.” She will never let you forget that happened. “No I need your help with something very important and personal. I need help talking to teenage girls.” You hear some coughing in the background of the call. “I’m sorry could you repeat that sir. I didn’t hear you right the first time.” “I need help talking to teenage girls. My granddaughter Jade is troubled and who better to call than the private who was troublesome in the beginning.” Now you hear laughing coming from the other side. “Yeah I can help you with that captain. What do you want to know.” That’s the spirit. You learn everything about why a teenager would want to cause trouble because of. It might have to do with her not being disciplined by you or something is seriously wrong with her life. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I imagine Joel acts like Phil Dunphy from Modern family and Jacob or Jake as Jay but more kind. Jane is straight from the candy epilogue. The only reason Joel isn’t bad is because his dad was good and didn’t back down.


	23. A failed lunch date

  **Karkat**

Today is Sunday, November 2, 2014. Today is also the day Dave pays you back for getting fined by your apartment’s management. You and Dave have managed to finally agree upon a restaurant where he will dine you out and pay you for sending a box full of inappropriately themed puppets. What restaurant have you and Dave agreed on. The restaurant is a old diner named Rifa’s Diner. It has all the stereotypical 1980’s items such as the round seats in front of a countertop, a checkered floor pattern, and booths. There aren’t any tables, so you’re sitting in a red leather seat next to a wall. You’re alone right now in a booth in the back since Dave had to go to the restroom. You’ve been watching humans walk into the restaurant with their friends or families. One human family strikes your attention as soon as they walk in. It’s two adults with a teenage girl carrying a human wriggler. They notice you starring at them from across the room, but only the daughter comes to confronts you. She has blonde hair, blue eyes, and a scowl on her face. “What are you doing here maggot. Can’t you see this place is a human establishment.” Oh she is one of the the racist humans who you’ve been warned about. “Hey listen here you fuckass! First of all, I have as much of a right to be here In this diner as you do! Second of all, where in the fuck does it say that I can’t be here!” She gets more visibly angry at your response. “You trolls are all the same. Always taking things that aren’t yours and then believing you’re equal to us.” This girl is a serious bitch to deal with. You get out of your booth to stare her down. However you are 5’2 while she looks to be 5’7 so you have to look up a bit. You snarl a little to make her afraid of you. Unfortunately that plan backfires when she pushes you. “Don’t you dare touch me you ignorant asshat.” She brings her arm back to ready a punch, but it gets caught at the last minute. “Emily why are you being a bitch to my friend right now.” Dave is standing behind you holding this girl’s fist. “David stop trying to be a hero. I was dealing with this pest who thinks that they can sit in here, so just leave.” Dave’s face shows no emotion whatsoever as he speaks. “Why would I leave him alone with you. Are you going to say he is the father of the next kid that comes out of you. Oh is that Jr. over there? Can’t wait to tell him his mother is the biggest slut I know.” Before you can get a chance to tell her anything Dave lets her fist go and drags you out of the diner like a child. “Dave let me go! I was just about to tell her to screw off.” Dave just continues to drag you away. At one point he tries to put you on his shoulder. He stops when you arrive at a bus stop. “Karkat stop acting like a spoiled teenager girl in a movie.” “I do not act like a girl! I’m trying to make you let me go you asshole!” He lets go of your black sweater. “Here’s your money for getting you into trouble now you can leave.” Why is Dave being hostile now. Maybe it has something to do with who that chick was. “Dave who was that girl and what did she do to make you angry? Is she your ex?” He lets out a brief chuckle. “No she isn’t my ex Karkat. She is John’s ex-girlfriend. Her name is Emily Kims the mega bitch of Adams High.” That jackass of a girl used to be John’s girlfriend before Terezi. How the hell did goodboy John get into a relationship with a girl who hated trolls? What about the kid she was carrying? Did John get her pregnant? These questions need to be answered. “If she used to be John’s girlfriend then does that mean he is the father. You called that kid Jr. Tell me Dave did John become a father?” He shakes his head in a disagreeable nod. “No she cheated on him with some football player and claimed John was the father. No one believed her when she announced that she was pregnant because they had already broke up. Then she started showing the signs. They had dated for four years, so the whole school started getting angry at John. It wasn’t until Rose and Jade had posted a picture of her with the other guy that she stopped coming to our school. It was was the biggest scandal her family had to deal with because her father was running for governor. Her entire family is racist against trolls for some reason. Now you know why I hate her.” Dave looks like he needs someone to talk to right now. “Dave did you want to come with me to my apartment and watch a movie. I have Hitched downloaded on my computer.” He nods his head faster than you can finish what you were saying.

The ride back to your apartment complex is nice and short. You and Dave talk about movies and ideas about purpose. It turns out you and Dave have a lot of common interests. Dave wants to become popular in the show business to prove to his bad parents that he is successful. Meanwhile you want to make life a little easier for trolls against the oppression that they still face. In the end the end both your goals are rooted in being accepted by others. When you arrive at the apartment you go straight to your room where Nepeta, Terezi, Equius, and Tavros are role playing. They always do this whenever you want to watch a movie. Dave greets them while you get your computer ready. “Hey what’s up guys. Me and Kitkat are going to watch a movie, but y’all can still play with each other.” Why does he always call you that name in front of your friends. You hate that he uses it but you also love that he gave you some other than what Sollux got. He gave everyone a nickname, but Sollux got the worst one. “Hey rezi where is Lemon Pepper.” As there it is. Your computer is locked and you’re trying to remember the password. Time to become a nervous paraplegic while you are struggling with technology.

* * *

**Tavros**

You are now the nervous paraplegic. Wait a minute, no you’re not. Your name is Tavros Nitram and you’re not nervous. You are currently in your pupa pan costume playing a board game with your friends. Your roommate Karkat has just brought over Dave Strider from school. Dave said he came over to watch a movie with Karkat on his computer. The game is just flarping but on the floor in a room instead of outside. “Terezi could you please continue continue with your turn. I want to finish this before Gamzee gets back.” Karkat stops whatever he was doing on his computer to ask you a question. “Where is Gamzee? I thought he was here in his room.” He doesn’t know Gamzee went with his friend. “Karkat he has been gone since 12:45 today. He went with his friend lil Cal to some place to in his words ‘Chill the motherfuck out.’ He said he wants to have a feelings jam when he gets back.” Karkat is now annoyed that Gamzee has been hanging out with Cal. You don’t think he is a bad guy, but he is known for having weed at all times. Terezi makes a comment about him. “Karkat don’t worry about Gamzee getting into trouble. He is a big boy and you aren’t his moirail, so how about you come join us in our game. It’s not like he is the best of friends with this Cal guy.” Karkat just huffs and goes back to his computer. Nepeta and Equius are in the corner braiding each other’s hair for some reason. Equius’ outfit is a centaur who has a braided mane. Nepeta is his adopted lioness sister who has pigtails. Terezi is in her dragon cloak playing a coin. Dave is now sitting next to you. “Rezi are you ok? I heard Joel yelled at you yesterday for being in John’s room. I also heard you were about to fight Emily at a party.” Who’s Joel and Emily they sound mean. Nepeta stops braiding Equius’ hair to talk to Terezi. “You ran into John’s psycho ex at a party and you didn’t tell us. Is she as bad as Jade says she is? Did you see John jr. with her or did she leave him at home?” Equius joins in. “Was this Emily girl that Nepeta has informed me about strike you. I noticed that you have a rather large bruise on your cheek.” Dave crosses his arms and say, “Oh course Jade told you about Emily. She has a bigger blabber mouth than Vinny who told his mom about his cheating dad.” You all say in union, “We didn’t now that.” Dave goes to corner and hides. Terezi pulls everyone’s attention by coughing. “Well yes Emily was as bad as Jade said. She threw her drink at me when I told her about her having a kid with some dude. She instantly tried to play the victim when she saw John coming out of the crowd. She told him to get rid of me, but instead he asked me out to breakfast in front of everybody. The face she made when she realized we were dating was priceless.” Karate laughs and says, “I would have loved to see that bitch’s face. We ran into her earlier when we went to Rifa’s Diner. She was extremely racist when she noticed me. She told me that the restaurant was too good for me to be in it.” Everyone except you laughs at both Karkat’s and Terezi’s stories. You hear Dave’s alarm start ringing. You know it’s his because as soon as it started he ran out of the room saying, “Bye guys I’ve got to go to work.” This causes Terezi to ask her question. “Hey does anyone know somewhere that’s hiring. I’m looking to get a job and some extra money.” Nepeta gleefully says, “Ohh the bistro where Equius and I work at needs more waitresses right now. A lot of the previous wait staff left because of college.” That reminds you that you have work tomorrow after school. You work at a veterinary clinic as a caretaker for the animals. You have been working their for about three years. As if on cue Gamzee makes his entrance.

Your moirail Gamzee comes into your room smell like a skunk’s den. “Gamzee what is that smell? Did you run into another skunk trying to steal your sandwich.” His eyes are glazed over like a he hasn’t had sleep in awhile. “Nah man. I was with Cal and his friends at their house. We were enjoying a sick organic elixir  his friend made when we started kissing. He tasted like orange soda and grapes. You should have been there when we started watching movies. They had the Spider-Man movie you have been wanting to see.” He is swaying by just standing. He ends up falling on your bed face first. You tried to catch him, but that only made him fall on the metal bars of your wheelchair. What will you do with him him. “Hey Gamzee could you uhh get off my bed. I don’t want my sheets to smell when I go to sleep.” He just continues to lie down. “Hey Tavbro when are you going to ask out that human girl out. Her name was Jade right.” You scan the room to see if Karkat or anyone else has heard what he has said. He is the only person you’ve told about your crush on Jade Harley. She is just a dream come true with her long flowing black hair and sweet but deadly attitude. “I’ll ask her out when I get the courage of course.” He starts laughing very lightly. “Tavbro you have always waited until you got the courage. You need to march up to her house and confess your love for her like the guys in Karkat’s movies.” You know he is right, but you’re afraid of rejection and humiliation. Vriska has destroyed your self esteem and confidence when you were younger. She would publicly made fun of you in middle school by always locking your wheelchair in the hallway. Anyone who tried to help you got in trouble with Vriska and her lackeys of Terezi and a few other cerulean bloods. Terezi stopped bullying you but the others didn’t. Then again she got sent to Felt Correctional Center which is a living hell from what you hear. Maybe you should try to ask Jade out. You’ll ask her out on Monday after school with a flower. It’s what Rufioh would want you to do.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I headcannon Karkat as the shortest one of the male trolls at 5’2. Nepeta is the smallest troll but she makes up for size with ferocious strength at 5’0. The tallest male troll would have to be Gamzee at 6’6. Kanaya is the tallest female troll at 6’3


	24. The Donkey

**Jade**

Today is Tuesday, November 4, 2014. You are at a Mexican bistro named The Lone Burro with Tavros. Why are you in a Mexican restaurant with Tavros? The answer is he asked you out yesterday. You were packing your messenger bag with your homework when Tavros rolled up in his wheelchair and gave you a bouquet of flowers. You were confused on why he gave you flowers until he asked if he could take you out for dinner tomorrow. You accepted his proposal because he is a sweet guy who is the first to asked you out romantically. Some of the other guys you’ dated just told you to meet them at a place then leave. That is why you’re here eating with Tavros who is paying. You were willing to go 50/50 but he said he wants to do this right. You choose the restaurant because you wanted to see Nepeta. You need to talk to her about setting up the fall festival for the school. For a first date he is doing pretty well. The both of you took the bus coming here since none of you can drive. That means if you were to storm out of here you would see him again. However you don’t plan on leaving since you’re very hungry right now. When you entered the restaurant you saw the beautiful decorations that are in every Mexican restaurant. The multicolored banners to the wall art of things from the past. The place is a little busy, so you have to wait to be seated. The person in charge of seating people just happens to be Terezi, John’s current girlfriend. She gets you and Tavros a table next to a window. A waiter comes to get your order as soon as you sit down. “I’ll have a Coke with the chicken mole plate. Could I please get the salad in a different bowl.” The waiter writes your order on his bright neon yellow notepad. “Would Pepsi be ok? We ran out of Coke a few days ago and we’re waiting for our delivery.” You nod your head at his suggestion of a different drink. He gets Tavros’ order next. “Can I get a tea with a beef Gordita, but I get the pinto beans changed to refried beans.” He writes down your orders and puts it on the swivel with other orders. You think you see Equius grab your ticket. Both your friend Nepeta and her moirail Equius work here. Nepeta is a waitress while Equius works in the kitchen cooking and carrying the heavy stuff. Nepeta has tried to make you join the the staff, but your heart belongs to animals instead of people. Tavros starts up a conversation. “Hey Jade I heard from Nepeta that you work at the dog hospital next to the mall. We seem to have that in common. I work at the veterinarian office next to the county.” His is a man after your heart. “Yeah I work at that clinic, but that’s nothing compared to where you work at. Did you ever treat any horses there.” The food arrives after about fifteen minutes. You and Tavros share stories over the animals you’ve taken care of and gave each other tips. “Did you seriously have to pretend to be a cow to calm down a horse. How do you even do that.” You’re laughing with Tavros about some of the animals that people have given him. You finish your plates and go to the register to pay. 

The bus ride back home is filled with more stories about animals. You tell Tavros about the time someone forgot to bring their dog to the clinic. “How does someone do that. Wouldn’t they notice when the dog isn’t making any noises when the reason they’re going to the vet is because of noise.” You haven’t had this much fun with a date since middle school. At that time your date had taken you to the carnival. When you get home you finally say goodbye to Tavros. You give him your phone number and a small kiss on his left cheek. “Can’t wait for the second date.” You leave him with the deepest brown blush on his dimpled cheeks. Both your grandpa and Bec are sitting in the living room watching Avatar. Bec runs ups and starts licking your face. “Hello Jade. How was school today? Did you finally finish getting help on your biology homework?” You push Bec off of you so you can speak. “Yeah, John is helping me with the homework. I had a great day today. I went on a date with this guy who had the same interests as me.” He get off his chair to talk to you. “How long have you known this boy that you speak of? Is he one of the boys that you have been fooling around with at these parties? Please tell me Jade.” You get angry fast. “No grandpa! I have only been on one date with him and he is from my school! I haven’t slept with him if that’s what you’re asking! He isn’t that type of guy and why did you think I slept with him!” He also gets angry. “Well I’m sorry if I’m concerned about your health and well-being! You never know if someone has some disease in their parts! I’m just trying to be a good guardian to you! You’re the one who has been sleeping with guys before!” You have heard enough of his yelling so you run to your room. There you can cry into your pillow because your grandfather thinks you’re a slut.

* * *

**Terezi**

**A few hours ago**

You are currently at your new job as a waitress/seater in Mexican bistro The Lone Burro. Today is your second day on the job. You are working because you want to do something for your matesprite John. He has provided you with food, love, a place to sleep at times, and trinkets. Overall you feel like you’re using him. Which is bad for you because he is the only person you know who will tolerate your antics and still love you. Your friends do care about you but they won’t love you like he does. You applied on Sunday when Nepeta told you that they needed waitresses and instantly got the job. It’s good money and the manger isn’t an ass like your roommate Fregoi’s is. You sit people who are in the waiting area and get drinks for people who are waiting. It’s pretty easy work especially since Nepeta is your guide. She taught you the basics of course, yet she still persists on helping you if you need it. Today was going normally until Tavros brought Jade here on a date. You didn’t know that they started dating until right now that is. You know they are dating because Tavros gave you twenty dollars to get the most romantic table available. You gave the man the most romantic table that had a window and was decorated. Nepeta is probably in a corner updating her shipping chart on her phone now. You decide to keep an eye on them. (Ten minutes pass) A family of five has just been seated when you see both Tavros and Jade laughing like crazy. They are getting along pretty well. Maybe you should stop watching them it’s creepy. A deep voice coming from behind gets your attention. “Hey Terezi right.” You turn around to see John’s older cousin Issac with some guy. “Yeah that’s right. I remember you from the party on Friday. Issac Martin I believe.” He shakes his head in a agreeable manner. “Yeah. Could we get seats for about twenty people in the next five minutes.” The rest has mainly cleared out so you can try. This is very awkward. They get their seats in the middle of the restaurant while Tavros and Jade leave. Your shift ends in a few minutes, so you just rough it out with the new arrivals. 

You join Nepeta and Equius on the ride back home. Nepeta puts her head on Equius’s shoulder and sleeps like a cat on a blanket. You get back to your room to find your roommates painting each other’s nails their blood colors. It seems like today a lot of people are finding love. Maybe you should consult them on what to get John. “Hey lovebirds what is an acceptable gift to get for your matesprite. Fregoi is the first to speak. “I would have to say a piece of jewelry would work. Ramona loves it when I get her necklaces with maroon beads.” Ramona says, “I would suggest their favorite snack with their favorite movie. Then you cuddle with them to make them go wild.” Fregoi is blushing a bright yellow and panicking about be outed as sappy. Well now you have a plan.

 


	25. Thankful for Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A collection of stories from the same holiday by different friends.

* * *

  **John**

**4:30 pm**

Today is Thursday, November 27, 2014. Today is also Thanksgiving day. You’re with your father, stepmother, and stepsister at your grandparents. Some people think inviting your new family to your in-laws is bad but not you. Your extended family love both Roxy and Rose because they were there for you when your mom died. They were honorary family members way before that though. Rose is talking to your grandma Juliet about her knitting. You bought a knitting kit as a joke when you were younger, but since then both your grandma and Rose have been knitting buddies. Your dad is outside smoking with your grandpa Leo and uncle Vincent. You’ve only ever had one cigarette in your life and it was awful. How they enjoy the smoke in their lungs alludes you. Your stepmom Roxy is talking to your aunt Levi about how to deal with a teenage daughter. Sarah is five years younger than you and herLevi’s husband Aiden is watching football on the big screen with your uncle Lincoln. Lincoln’s wife is watching Jeff and Vinny play with their action figures. Your cousins Sarah, Maria, and Mark are on their phones. Issac is with his girlfriend Zara on the couch making out. You wonder if you should have invited Terezi to come with you. Then the whole family could have met her and checked her out. Vincent and Levi are still upset about the whole Emily incident two years ago. They thought she would’ve been the one for you, so they had invested their money in helping her and her family. You come a well off family on both sides. Your nana came from distant royalty and had shares in an baking empire. Your dad’s dad used to be a governor and owned a bunch of prank shops that raked in thousands. Since your dad is an only child he got all the assets of his family. Your mom’s dad owns his own automotive business while her mom owns a few tailors. Neither you or your dad grew up spoiled because that’s how you lose money and your dad didn’t know about the money. You stop thinking about money and start back at Terezi. You should call her. However you should go into another room to talk or else your cousins are going mess with you. You head into your mother’s old room. Your phone has Terezi’s number marked as teal gremlin. The phone rings for a minute until you hear the call get accepted. “Hey Terezi. How’s your thanksgiving going. Mine is pretty boring since I have no one to talk to.” “I wish I could say mine is better, but sadly I can’t. Karkat is busy talking to the others while I here all alone. I really shouldn’t have yelled at Nepeta for spilling tea on my plushies. They are the only memory I have left of my lusus dragonmom. She says it was an accident but I’m still angry. They were already destroyed long before she stained them but it still hurt inside. What should I do John?” Should you tell her to just forgive Nepeta about stain her dolls. You would be upset if someone ruined your stuffed salamander you have in your room. You got that from your mom as a gift for being good. It means a lot to you, so you can understand why Terezi got mad at Nepeta. “Honestly I would also be angry at Nepeta if she ruined something that my mom gave me. But I would have to forgive her at some point in time. How about I take you out to buy another plush animal tomorrow.” You can heat her giggle. “Sure John. I can’t wait to make you spend all your money on a plushie that I’ll use as a weapon we you come over. However I have work tomorrow how about Saturday.”  “Yeah we’ll see about that but yeah Saturday works for me. Would you also like to come to my house and enjoy a movie.” You continue to heat Terezi giggle on the other side. It sounds melodic and soothing to you. “Are you trying to get me in trouble with your dad John. I’m pretty sure if we hangout at your house anymore he might assume we have grandkids already. I don’t know about you John, but I’m to young to be buying hard candy for no one to eat.” You also start laughing. “Woah cool your horses Terezi. I haven’t even proposed and you’re talking about having kids. I’m a person of class, so you have to take me out on a third date to even consider having kids.” The hilarity just continues. “John I can’t slow my horses they just ran away and I need your help putting them away. And we have already been on five dates including three hate dates.” “I know can’t you see me telling the children about how life was hard back then. I had to use a manual car instead of the hovercraft they have today.” You’re thankful you have some to talk to when you want to. You and Terezi continue to have a conversation until you hear a knock at the door.

* * *

**Rose**

**4:55 pm**

You are at the dinner table at your stepgrandparents waiting for your stepbrother John. Why aren’t you at your biological family for thanksgiving. Your mother’s parents kicked her out when she was pregnant with you, so their out. Your dad and his parents are out of the picture since they’re in jail. Your brothers did invite you to their house, but you chose to go with John and his family. Speaking about him he went upstairs about twenty minutes ago and hasn’t come down yet. When the time came for the family to start you noticed that John was missing. Lincoln was the first to speak up. “Hey dad were is John?” At that moment you heard laughing coming from one of the rooms upstairs. Your grandpa Juliet was the first to standup. “I’ll go get Johnny real quick everyone else please wait up we have to pray with him.” You also standup with her. “I’ll help you get him.” That is how you and Juliet ended up listening to John’s conversation with Terezi. They are joking around some pretty serious topics like it’s nothing. Like how John will make sure the kids don’t lick everything in their peripheral vision. It is at this time you decide to get John back for pranking you yesterday. You give the door a light knock. When he opens the door you say, “So John when do I become an aunt? What kind of aunt should I be? Do I drink a lot and provide advice on how to scam the government or am I the cool aunt who lets them do stuff?” John’s face becomes as red as a ripe tomato in the seconds that pass. Juliet gets the cue and continues. “Oh sweetheart is the first going to be a boy or a girl. Does her parents have any suggestions for names because we have a tradition of naming the boys after our grandfathers.” You and Juliet get the greatest gift of all the lose of John’s prankster gambit. Ohh how sweet it taste until the bittersweet end of John trying to reclaim it. John calms himself down enough to talk. “What are you guys doing up here spying on my phone call. What would you have done if it was an inappropriate conversation.” Without missing a beat Juliet says, “What kind of inappropriate conversation does a boy have in his mother’s old room. All of her old pictures are still on the wall, so the picture of her in her Girl Scouts uniform is watching. (She lets out a soft laugh as she says this.)We came up to tell you dinner is ready.” You all get downstairs to be asked why you are laughing and why John is red faced. You give a little hushed finger. Everyone gets the hint and doesn’t ask any more questions. You finish the prayer and start eating the turkey dinner. Your grandpa Leo made the turkey, your grandma Juliet made the filling, your dad Joel made the pies, and your aunts and uncle made everything else. The potatoes, gravy, casserole, and vegetables are delicious. The night is filled with more laughter, food, and joy. By the time you have to leave you bid farewell to everyone. You are thankful that you are accepted by others who are biologically connected to you. The ride home is a while so you text Kanaya and talk about the festivities of today. You and her have been getting along pretty well.

* * *

**Dave**

**5:00 pm**

You are having a thanksgiving meal with your older brother. Dirk is cutting up the turkey he cooked on the roof all day today. You tried inviting Rose since you did find out she is your sister recently. She politely turned you down to go with John and his dad. You get it. This is big news for the both of you, so she can take as much time as she needs. You haven’t shied about any details about your parents. She knows her mother made the right choice, but she still feels betrayed since her mom lied. Both your parents were abusive to both you and your brother when you still lived with them. You were blind to your mother using you to smuggle her supplies around the neighborhood. You just thought your mother was just being nice when she walked with you around the block. It was weird that she would carry your school bag instead of you but why would it be suspicious. It wasn’t until your brother got you out that you realized what was happening. They didn’t keep you around because they loved you. They got paid by the government to take care of you which they didn’t. Dirk was the one who fed and took care of you while they spent the money. He learned how to program so he could get money by taking it out of your parents account. When you did something bad like make to much noise he would try to take the beating. They would hit you and him then preach from the lord bible. They were hardcore Christian, so when they found out your brother swung for the same team they were angry. He left with you as soon as he could and never looked back. You remember playing with your red stuffed crocodile when your brother came into your room and told you to pack your bags. Was he taking you to go visit that man in a suit again? He always asked questions about your parents and often made you take of your shirt and show him where mommy touched you hard. Your brother would take you out to get ice cream if you promised not to tell mommy or daddy about that man. Instead he took you to a office building and told you to stay safe for a few days. Different people would come in and ask you questions or check your mother’s marks. You would hold onto your crocodile waiting for your brother to come back. The same man in a suit would put you up and take you to some house to sleep and eat. After a week of being there you saw your big brother again. He was crying but he said they were happy tears because he won. He then took you to the apartment you call home. He would always hangout with this guy who would pretend to be like your dad while your brother would be your mom. Pushing their faces together while making noises. He would always laugh while your brother would be jumpy when you would walk in the room. He stopped coming and your brother started crying but would stop when he saw you. That is what your childhood was like. As you grew up you began to understand what had happened. Your brother took you to a social worker and fought your parents for custody over you. That guy he hung out with was his boyfriend at the time. You were such a blocker as a kid. “Hey Dave.” Dirk could have been getting lucky but you just had to get your apple juice. “Guy who drinks all his advertising money on cheap Walmart aj could you please talk to your brother.” Like seriously what if he was naked when you walked in. “Insufferable prick do you rodger. We entering the enemy’s territory right now could you respond rodger.” That would have been weird. Is your brother still a virgin because of you. Someone is tapping on your shoulder right now. “Ohh hey bro. Did you need something?” He stands their confused. “Uhh yeah would you want some gravy for your food. I’ve been trying to get an answer from you for the past five minutes. I thought I lost you to sleepy bitch disease again.” Ohh he’s been trying to get your attention for a while. Your surprised he didn’t just put the gravy on your food and just leave. “Sorry I was stuck in my head for a bit. I was thinking about what I’m thankful for this year. I’m between having my comic becoming more popular vs finding out my best friend has secretly been my sister.” He shifts in his chair. “You should be thankful that I didn’t smack you upside the head. Now eat the food I had to slave away at for the last five hours or so. We eating turkey for the next two days.” You can’t tell if he is serious or just playing around with you. “Hey bro I have a question for you.” He puts his fork and slice of bread on his plate. “Ask away little man.” You just come out and say it. “When I was younger and you were hanging out with that guy on the couch. Did I ever you know block you. I just remember always seeing you on top of him kissing and...” He is even more confused now than he was before. It’s like you asked him orange soda is better than orange juice. “Yes you did. You don’t know how close we were to basically ripping each other apart. I was just about to get unbuckled when you walked in asking if you could have some juice.” You nod your head and slowly start eating. “Well thanks for not killing me for doing that. Also thanks for saving me from our psycho parents.” You are thankful for your brother loving you like you were his own kid. 

* * *

**Jade**

**4:50 pm**

You’re sitting on your couch with Bec on your leg asleep. A bunch of reruns are on the being shown on the T.V. You’ve fixed things with your grandpa since last time. He bought you a slice of cake from your favorite bakery and put your favorite movie on. Neither of you could stay mad at each other for very long. You have been seeing someone that your grandpa asked to talk to you. Her name is Penny Messenger and she used to be as reckless as you are. You know that party late at night and having sex with random people is risky but its your problem. No one else's. Definitely not Penny’s who is a communications director in city hall. What does she know about you that you don’t know yourself. It seems like a lot because she knew some of the things you have done that you never told anyone. Like smoking weed with some blonde guy at that party for Helena. Or drinking drinks you know are spiked with alcohol or something else entirely. She has been helping you get through most of these things. Everything has been great. However you seem to have gotten sick again because you have been throwing up every morning for the past three days. Every day like clockwork you woke up and immediately had to put your dinner down the drain. The food you had on your recent date with Tavros did smell a bit off. It’s weird because when he took you there a few weeks ago it didn’t smell bad. You thought it might have been your nose acting up, but now you know it wasn’t just you. Should you call Tavros and ask him if he is sick too. He might be busy with the whole thanksgiving dinner at the apartment complex he lives in. Your toll friends have told you about a huge dinner in the cafeteria where you get in a line and get your food. It’s sad for those who don’t have any quadmates to spend the holidays with. Gredia, Helena, and Fregoi are probably in their house enjoying the holiday. You heard Fregoi has recently gotten a matesprite who helps her. You wish you could find someone to be your boyfriend for girlfriend. You’re not picky on the gender, race, or species of your lover. You have Tavros but you feel like he will get over you sooner or later. You’ve been more cranky about things lately. Maybe it’s your period acting up that’s causing this. It is a little later than usual. Then again you are a young girl, so it’s to be expected since your body is still developing. You’ll have to ask Rose’s mom Roxy about this since she is your only informant about the female body. You hear the front door open and close quickly. Ohh it’s your grandpa back from the store. You had asked him to go to the store to grab some items you needed. A heating pad and a bag of your favorite candy recess pieces. He is always ready to go to the store or another place to grab something you need. Dinner is almost ready. The turkey in the oven should almost be ready to serve. You already know what you’re thankful for. Which is a supportive guardian who willfully go across enemy lines to get you where you need to.

* * *

 ~~~~**Karkat**

**4:30pm**

You’re at one of the many cafeteria tables in your apartment complex. All your friends are gathered around you since you managed to claim the table. All except Terezi Pyrope. She isn’t sitting next to you or anyone since she had yelled at Nepeta for accidentally spilling a little tea on her plushie. Terezi’s doll was already ruined way before Nepeta even got close to it. But Terezi has never been known to take things lightly. It all started earlier this morning. You and everyone else were going over the plan to get a table, so you all wouldn’t have to be scattered around the room. Terezi had brought her stuffed dragon that was already falling apart when Nepeta tripped over Sollux’s feet. She was drinking her morning tea with extra lemon juice for her sore throat. She had been yelling all day since one of her coworkers wasn’t doing their part. The tea got more on your bed than it did on Terezi’s dragon. But nonetheless she berated Nepeta for staining some more darker than the tea. Nepeta was close to tears when you stepped up in front of Terezi and told her to get out of your room. She marched out and it wasn’t until later you saw her sitting by herself. She didn’t get any of the food that was being provided. Some of it tastes like a rubber ball’s ass but some of the others parts are good. There she sat by herself until she left to take a phone. You ignored her until she walked to your table and told Nepeta sorry after twenty minutes. Everyone forgave each other and lived happily ever after. Unfortunately that didn’t happen because you still had some fight left. “Terezi what are you planning to do to Nepeta. You don’t forgive and forget with people. So what are you planning.” Her face is more confused than you were when she said she was dating John. You don’t believe it though. “Terezi if you were truly sorry you would have did it over phone or something. You’re not ver face to face person.” She tries to stay still. Is she quivering? “Karkat I’m just trying to let Nepeta know that I forgive her. If it doesn’t look genuine then I’m sorry.” She just runs to what you would assume is her room. Was she trying to be genuine about forgiving Nepeta if it was John she talked to. You hope not otherwise you’re an ass. At least you can be thankful that you’re accepted as a common blood now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> John and Terezi talking about life problems is their way of being together. They value each other’s opinions when they need guidance. You can see it in the epilogues.
> 
> Both Rose and Roxy consider John’s grandparents family. The family also accepts them as family. Hence why Rose refers to them as grandpa and grandma or simply their first names. Roxy is purely first name.
> 
> Dave is trauma stricken because he just wants to be loved. In the comic he makes his cool guy persona that is to cool to be caught doing anything that shows emotional strength or weakness. As all knights do they want to be accepted by their friends. Karkat isn’t actually angry he just makes that his person because he is afraid of being rejected. He used to be a mutant blood which would have made him dead meat on Alternia but he is no longer a rare blood color. He can coexist with human’s as red bloods. 
> 
> Jade feels abandoned like she was unwanted. She had suffered abuse from the foster family she had before being adopted by Jacob. She may have lived with him for ten years but trauma doesn’t just go away. It sticks to you and you have to live with it.


	26. Is Bleeding Good Or Bad

**Terezi**

**1:38 pm**

Today is Saturday, November 29, 2014. You and John are currently at a Cinnabon in the mall food court. You are wearing a black shirt with your crest on the left breast and light blue shorts. You had just went to the cleaners to drop off your pyralsprite plush. They offered to clean and restitch her for pretty cheap. That made your day a little better than it already is. For some reason you have been getting cramps in your stomach for few days now. It’s like someone is stabbing you with a dull blade repeatedly. John has caught on to your huffs of pain but you told him you were fine. That didn’t stop him from making you sit down and enjoying a snack of buttery cinnamon sticks with him. That’s how you ended up here. “Hey Terezi. What movies do you want to watch when we get to my house? We can stream them or watch some of the movies I have on disk.” You adjust the way your sitting so to ease the pain in your lower abdomen. “As much as I want to watch a new movie, I don’t want to wait for it to load. So what movies do you have on disk?” John starts talking with his mouth full of small cinabites. “I have Armageddon, Batman, Alien, and Con Air. I had more but Jade said she wanted them.” Uhh did he say Con Air. You hate every aspect of that movie because you would spend hours on end memorizing it for a moirail who didn’t care. You begin speaking your words venomously. “I’m not watching Con Air ever! Vriska ruined everything that is associated with that idiotic movie!” John puts his hand over yours in an effort to calm you down. “I’ll make sure to get rid of it if it is bringing back painful memories. Besides I already grew out of it a long time ago.” He pulls you closer to whisper, “Don’t tell Dave this ok. It will break his little cool guy heart if he founds out. Nick Cage isn’t my favorite actor it’s actually Matthew McConaughey. If Dave found out he would lose his status as a cool guy because he has pulled pranks on me over this.” This must be important if Dave can’t learn of this. “I don’t know John. Dave has been the king of cool kids for a long time now I think it’s time for him to pass. That is unless I get some compensation for keeping this a secret. A bag of multicolored jellybean seems like an appropriate payment.” John lowers his head and gives you a bag of jellybeans. “Anything to protect the cool guy persona of Dave.” As you put a handful of the beans into your mouth you notice a smirk on John’s face. Unfortunately it’s to late for you when the taste of trash fills your mouth. It’s a retched of garlic and old fruit. “Ugh did you seriously give me trash flavored jellybeans. I thought I could trust you John.” You try to reach for your drink to wash out the taste, but John is holding your cup. “As I said anything to protect Dave’s precious persona.” He gives you your drink back of course and you gargle the the sweet taste of Dr Pepper. He gets and goes to throw away all your trash. Afterwards he takes you to his house to watch some movies.

You go into John’s room where you’ll watch movies on the floor. His family is currently at Roxy’s work for some office party. John said he didn’t want to go since he doesn’t like her coworker’s daughter eyeing him up. The both of you get the popcorn and drinks ready. John goes to a rack containing all his movies. “Thanks for the memories as a kid Poe but I’m leaving you. Have you decided on which movie you want to watch. I still have Batman, Armageddon, and Alien as a choice.” The first part is in a whisper you can’t hear. You can see him putting the case to Con Air in a trash bin next to his bed. “I think Batman is the best choice for me. Sometimes you just have to see criminals get beaten by a wealthy CEO in search for vengeance. Don’t you agree.” You put the drinks and bowl of popcorn on the floor while he grabs a blanket. “Yeah I do agree. The main bad guys are always being sent to jail but they always escape. Then Batman has to come out of his cave and deal with them while the police wait for him to solve their problems. It would save a lot of time to just send Batman to every crime scene.” You turn off the lights and get in the blanket with John. The movie starts off with police sirens and criminals lurking about. The caped vigilante hanging around the ceiling waiting for said criminals to enter the shadows. When it ends you put in another movie, so the scene moment of peace doesn’t end. The pain is still there so you occasionally get jumpy when it spikes. John notices after the second time you wince in pain and comforts you. He wraps his arms around you and pulls you closer to his chest. To think you would never have gotten this moment if Vriska was still your moirail. You would definitely have been trying to appease her by not showing any weakness with anybody. It was toxic for you since you broke down when she ended it. You had no one else because you were never allowed to show weakness and were an ass to everyone. Vriska would berate you if you showed anyone that you were in pain. Now you have someone who loves you and who isn’t scared to call you out on your crap. He has yet to abandon you when he wants to go do something else. He makes you feel wanted. You end up succumbing to slumber in his warm embrace. The scent of laundry detergents and freshly baked cake is prevalent on John. 

* * *

**John**

**6:37 pm**

The sounds of the explosion as Bruce Willis’ character sacrifices himself for Ben Affleck’s character. A truly noble gesture to the guy your daughter wants to be with. Liv Tyler’s character being unaware that her father saved the planet from a colossal asteroid on a direct path towards earth. You Terezi nuzzles up against you and winces again in her sleep. What could be causing her so much pain. You receive your answer in a wet surprise on your crotch. The faint light from the T.V. showing dark teal liquid coming from Terezi’s shorts. Did she piss herself in her sleep. The idea to touch the mysterious substance comes to mind. However you don’t follow through with it because that’s disgusting. What if it was actually Terezi’s freshly squeezed pee. You are the kind of guy who likes to feel pee on yourself. You gently give Terezi a shaking to wake her up. She is now half asleep. “John did you spill your drink because my shorts are wet. It smells like blood.” Then it clicks in your head. Terezi is a girl and what have girls once a month that causes pain in their lower abdomens. They have their periods which can be very messy from what Rose and Emily told you. Luckily you know what to do because of those two. “Terezi you just had your period on my floor. It’s ok it’s natural for a girls body to do this kind of thing.” She is still half asleep in your arms. “John whats a period and how is it natural?” Oh yeah trolls don’t learn about the reproductive cycle of humans. Does that mean she doesn’t know about the topic of Sex-Ed. “Terezi a female period is when you bleed out of your womanhood. All girls get in their teenage lives. It means your body is developing to become pregnant.” Terezi gives you the most confused face you’ve seen on anyone. “Do you mean my pailing cycle?” Did trolls name their menstrual cycle the pailing cycle? You give her your confused face. “John it’s how my body say I’m ready to contribute my genetic material to the mothergrub. I thought I would have it next year, but this makes it awkward.” You guess that makes sense. How else would a species that makes a giant bug birth their young explain a period. “Do you have any pads to take care of the bleeding.” Neither of you move from your sitting position. “What’s a pad going to do?” You have to explain everything to her don’t you. “Terezi you do know human girls also have the same problem. When this happens they tend to have pads or tampons to help stop the bleeding. If you didn’t know this then how were you supposed to keep clean.” Terezi gets up from between your legs. The blood is now falling down her legs in a leaky pipe. “I didn’t know humans had the same problem. Also humans stop the bleeding instead of waiting for it to stop?” Do troll just let that shit happen. Not a single troll though to put some cotton in there to help stop the bleeding. That’s completely unsanitary for anyone to just let happen. “Terezi go into the bathroom on the right and grab one of the bundles under the sink. It’s menstrual pads that Rose uses. You know what let’s shower so I can take you to go buy some.”

 That is what you did. You gave Terezi some of your clothes to wear since her’s are ruined and sent her to the bathroom. You then had to clean your crotch since there was a large teal stain on your pants. One of the weirdest things to happen to you. You never imagined that you would have to take your troll girlfriend out to by tampons. There’s always a first for everything. You finish up and wear a white polo with some blue jeans to go out. You see Terezi walking differently when she comes out. She has your old black slimer shirt with some cargo shorts. It’s all held together by a belt because you used to be bigger in middle school. “Hey John why does the pad feel so weird in between my legs. It’s to sticky and my legs are sore.” Rose said the same thing to Roxy when she started her period. “You’re just new to this experience. Your legs are sore because your uterus lining is shedding which is why you’re bleeding. You’ll get over it as time goes on, so quit being a baby and let’s go!” She grimaces at you yelling at her. She walks up towards you and whispers in your ear, “I’m also super horny and you telling me what to do is turning me on.” She licks your cheek for emphasis. You of course stumble backwards with the reddest face anyone has ever had. You look back at her laughing like crazy. “Did you seriously have to do that? You shouldn’t joke around like that.” She just continues to laugh at you on the floor as you get up. The both of you hop into your mom’s Chevrolet Traverse and head towards your local CVS. You tell Terezi all the stereotypical items that women on their periods get. Such as the required tampons, ice cream, chocolate, and pain pills. You will of course pay for it since Terezi left her wallet in your room. You have three out of the four items since Terezi is trying to find the right tampon brand. It’s not like you know which one is the right one for her. Also she can’t see the boxes so she couldn’t pick the right one. At that moment you get lucky and see Jade in the other aisle looking for something. That something happens to be pregnancy test because she stops and examines each box. You don’t say anything out of since it isn’t your place to say anything. She is her own person and she doesn’t need you to judge her. She grabs three different brands and walks into you. “Ohh sorry I was on my way...” Her eyes widen in shock when she recognizes you. Terezi comes from around the corner and sees Jade. “Hey John I we should ask your sister what is the right option. Ohh hello Jade do you think you could help me find the right tampons for me.”

* * *

**Jade**

**4:45 pm**

You have been sick and sore all over so you decide to see what the internet might have. A quick google search comes up with three answers. You are either sick with cancer or are having total organ failure. The last one scares you. The third answer is you’re pregnant. It is also the most likely since you have been throwing up every morning, some foods you love disgust you, and your late on your period. At first you thought it was just a fluke, but then it started to make sense. You did have intercourse about four weeks ago. You don’t really remember anything since you were drunk off your ass at a college party. You might have done it raw without any protection whatsoever. What would your grandpa think when he finds out about you being pregnant. He will try to make you marry the father or worse abort it. You don’t even know who the guy is since you woke up in the girls communal shower room. Then there’s the problem of your current boyfriend Tavros Nitram. The two of you have decided to go steady in a relationship since you both have a lot in common. You never told him that you have slept around before dating him. That would be weird. He will probably leave you and try to find someone else who loves animals and doesn’t allow random people into their pants. You don’t want to kill it since you’re a pro-lifer for everything. You protested a place that kills dogs that are too old to be sold by breeder. None of that matters right now. You stay in your room and have a panic attack due to all this added stress. Bec sensing imminent mental health threat rushes into the room to calm you. He manages to keep you stable long enough for you to calm down. It’s been about an hour since you found out the possibility that you are a pregnant teenager. You think you should get a test to see if you are pregnant. You put on some clothes to hide yourself in and run to a CVS. You might as well buy some other items to hide the test from the cashier. A small container of ice cream, a bag of chips, some candy bars, and a bottle of Lipton iced tea. On your trip to the test you examine each box carefully to see which ones are the best brands. You grab three different brands of pregnancy tests and are about to run to the cashier when you bump into someone. You apologize and look up to see your friend John Egbert standing in shock. He saw you looking at the boxes. If it couldn’t get worse his girlfriend Terezi comes around the corner. She seems to be wearing some of John’s older clothes that he stopped wearing for obvious reasons. It turns out that they are here looking for tampons for Terezi. She has started  her period which would be the the greatest relief to you right now.

John pulls you aside to talk. “Jade what happened? How did you get pregnant you aren’t dating anyone right now.” You begin tearing up because he thinks you’re a slut. “I’m dating Tavros now. Unfortunately it’s not his.” John probably hates you now since Emily did something similar to him two years. “How did this happen Jade? We all thought you would have been the last person to have gotten pregnant in high school.” You are visibly shaking. “I started dating Tavros a few days after I had sex. It was at that Halloween party at the college. I got drunk and some things lead to another.” John puts his hand on your shoulder to try and stabilize you. “Do you at least know who the father is?” You shake your head no. He sighs and says, “Do you want me to take the test to the cashier while you help Terezi look for tampons.” You nod and give him the boxes and the money you had brought. Since Terezi is young and has recently started bleeding you get the box of simple thin tampons. “Hey Jade what was that box you gave John to buy. It must have been something embarrassing since you started sweating bullets when you saw him. It’s ok if it’s a gift to Tavros. I promise I won’t tell him I saw anything.” She nows about the little trade off you had with John. “Ohh it’s a gift not many guys are happy to get.” She thankfully doesn’t get the meaning. “Is it a stuffed key chain doll. Sollux hates them but Tavros actually likes them for some reason.” Well that’s good information to have. You buy the stuff for Terezi and head out of the store and join John at his stepmother’s car. You grab your bag from John and whisper to him. “Do you promise not to tell anyone about this. Not even if Dave tries to pull out his punch card of the times you’re able to avoid his questions.” He gives you a affirmative nod. He also gives you a ride back home. You say goodbye to him and Terezi as they drive off back to his house. You immediately go into your bathroom to do the test before your grandfather gets back. You take a piss and wait for about ten minutes. Bec comes into the bathroom and nuzzles your leg. “I can’t play with you right now Bec. I’m about to discover if I’m going to become a parent at the age of nineteen. If they come out positive do you promise to stay by my side all the way.” Bec gives off the loudest whine you’ve heard from him. You turn over all the test and shit. They are all positive for pregnancy. Now you’re screwed for real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The trolls start their periods during their late teens. Terezi isn’t the first nor is she the last to experience her bloody day. As I mentioned before the humans don’t know everything about troll biology and neither the trolls about human biology. The trolls are pretty secretive about their lives.


	27. I’m Not Angry. I’m Just Disappointed.

**Jacob**

**7:45** **~~~~am**

Today is Sunday, November 30, 2014. You just woke up from a vivid nightmare of your days in World War Two. You have been getting them a lot lately. Might have to do with the anniversary of the death of your entire battalion in a gas bomb. You were scared when you saw all your friends drop with their faces burned. You should probably see a therapist about that. You wouldn’t want to eat Jade by accident like had with Alice. You can still see the fear in her eyes when she tried to surprise you for your birthday. That’s all in the past now. Today the garbage truck comes to collect the trash, so you have to collect all the bags and put them in the can. Jade usually does this kind of thing since she is young and doesn’t have joint pain like you do. However you saw her crying in her bedroom with Bec trying to comfort her. She sounded so scared like when go got her away from that awful foster family. You tried to comfort her too but when she saw you she stopped making any sound. She was still tearing up though. Did she have another fight with her friends from school? Did she do something that might upset you like stealing something? You don’t know what it could be. It’s probably better if you leave her alone so she doesn’t feel trapped by you. As you are taking out the trash you spot a weird small pink and white box under a bunch of tissues. You’re not going to pry into Jade’s trash because of some random box. You will however pry into her trash when you spot a pregnancy test wrapped in a paper towel. It’s clear that she tried to hide the evidence, but she must have forgotten that today is trash day. That is a rookie mistake for a teenage girl who lives with their grandfather. You turn the test over and see that it has the positive markings. Those two pink lines are so small, yet they cause the biggest reactions. You're going to question Jade when she wakes up. No need to cause her to much stress now. You will grill her for every answer you want. Who is the father, Does she plan on telling them, Will she keep it, and Why didn’t she use protection. This is a very serious matter. She now has to care for herself and the child that she is carrying. You are mad at her for making this mistake that will harm her future. How does she expect to provide for a child when she works part time at a dog hospital. She used to be a full time employee, but she chose to like like a wild child so she became a part timer. You’ll ask her after breakfast.

An hour and a half has passed

You fried up some eggs and bacon for breakfast. You were about halfway done when Jade woke up from her slumber. “Hey grandpa what did you make today? It smells delicious.” You stop trying to get your empty sunnyside up egg on your fork to speak with her. “I made sunnyside up eggs and turkey bacon today. Can’t eat pancakes everyday. Even if you want to.” She laughs at your joke. You let her finish her breakfast before you tell her that you know about her growing problem. “Hey Jade did anything happen while I was away yesterday. I saw that you were crying in your room. It must have been serious because when I tried to enter your room you flinched away.” She is scarfing down the rest of her plate like a champ. “Ohh yeah. I was nothing really I was just very hormonal with my period. My favorite dog actor died and it made me sad.” Why is lying about the tests you found. Enough being subtle with about the elephant in the room. You pull the test out of your pocket and lay it on the table in full view. “Jade would you like to explain why I had to find this instead of you telling me. Am I untrustworthy to you.” Tears are starting to form on her eye lids like crazy. “I..I knew you were g..going to be ang..gry when you found out. I was going t..to tell you when I f..found the courage.” Bec bolts into the room faster than you can say stop. He is frantically trying to calm down Jade with all sorts of positions of cuddling. You also try to calm her down but hugging her. “Jade it’s ok. I’m not that angry about you getting pregnant in high school. You are okay. No one is going to hurt you or kick you out of here. You’re safe.” Her breathing gets less ridged and she manages to become stable. “You promise you aren’t angry with me grandpa. I know I made a mistake when I went to that party. I was dumb and got drunk and slept with someone but I want to keep it. It’s my body that it’s in.” Of course it’s her body but what about her future. “I know. I’m not telling you that you need to abort it, but give it some thought. I don’t want you to do something that you'll regret later on. Anyway who’s going the father of my great-grandchild. Is it someone I know or.” Before you could finish Jade said, “I don’t know who the father is. As I said I was drunk and it was a frat house party, so anyone could be the father. I woke up with half my clothes in the girl’s dormitory shower room.” Well you should have expected that she might not have known the father. “It’s ok if you don’t know who the father is. Some of the best people I know have no clue who their fathers are. You don’t have to tell anyone about this.” She looks up into your eyes and says, “John knows about me getting the test. He is the one who bought them for me so the cashier wouldn’t judge me.” Them. Does that mean more than one test was positive. “Jade we’re going to the clinic to see if you actually are pregnant.” The results from the clinic came back as positive. You’re going to be a great grandfather in eight months. Lucky you. 

* * *

**Joel**

**A few hours ago 6:15 am**

You woke up to the sounds of a carpet cleaner being used in your son’s room. You are suspicious of why he might be using a carpet cleaner this early in the morning. It seems like your wife is also inquiring about the use of her vacuum carpet cleaner combo. His door is closed so you give a polite knock to get his attention. The noise stops and he peaks his head out to answer. “Ohh hi dad. Sorry for the noise I’m just cleaning my room since Terezi decided to make a mess on my floor yesterday.” That is another thing you will have to ask him. When you, Roxy, and Rose had arrived home you saw that your wife’s car was gone. John said he was going to use it to take Terezi to the mall earlier. He should have already have been back, but he could have gone to get some snacks or something. He has developed an addiction for lemonade tea from Bill Miller’s. John and Terezi entered the house ten minutes after you do. However Terezi is wearing some of John’s old clothes and has a CVS bag. “Welcome back John. I see that you let Terezi borrow some of your clothes.” John puts down a bag He was carrying. “Yeah well Terezi started bleeding in the monthly way so I gave her some clothes and got her some necessities.” He then goes into the laundry room and gives Terezi some clothes. Both Roxy and Rose are talking to Terezi and providing her tips on how to deal with her period. Wait did she have her period on the floor in John’s room. That would explain why he is using a carpet cleaner now. “John are you using the carpet cleaner because Terezi bleed all over your floor yesterday.” He nods to you. “John do you need my help cleaning it up. I can give you some seltzer water to help get the blood out.” “Thanks dad. I know the parenting books you read never had a chapter about this.” He opens the door and lets you in. “I’m pretty sure it was at the end. If your son’s blind alien girl has her period in his room you are obligated to help him clean it up. It’s the law.” You and him both  laugh like nothing is wrong. Roxy is at the door with her face in her hands. “How did I end up in a house with two adult children ?” It takes you and John an hour to clean up the blood stain on the floor. After that you start to cook breakfast for your loving family. Hasbrowns, eggs, and sausages is what you have in the fridge so that what you’re cooking. You have been saving them since Roxy told you that they made her sick which would cause her to puke. Your wife has stopped throwing up last week. She said that she had gotten sick because of food poisoning. However today you learn that is wasn’t true. “Hey Joel I have something to tell you. You know how I have been throwing up daily. Well a few weeks ago I found out that I am pregnant.” You were stirring the eggs in a bowl when she told you this. The wooden spoon that you were holding was cracked in your grip. “Oh my god Joel are you ok?” You put everything on the counter and hug your pregnant wife. “I’m ok. I was just surprised that you are pregnant. How far along are you now?” She gives you a kiss on your cheek. “I’m about four months alone now. I guess that night after dinner you were too loving.” Life sure is weird. 

 


	28. Lovers Reunited

**Dave**

**11:55 am**

Today is Thursday, December 4, 2014. You are sitting in the in the counselor’s office being lectured on not vandalizing school property. She looks real frustrated about you painting over an old posters for the Fall festival last month. Jade said you could use them since they were no longer relevant. Also you weren’t alone when you were caught painting over it. Sollux or as you like to call him Lemon Pepper is waiting outside. Why would you call someone the name of a spice. You give everyone a nickname based on how they are. Sollux is Lemon Pepper because she is yellow and her has some kick in him. Your close friends are just their names since you had a fight last year when Jade told you she didn’t like being call Dorthy. She was asking for with her red slippers and forever companion Bec following her around. “Mr. Strider are you listening to me. This is a serious infraction on your disciplinary report.” She brings you out of your mind. You take on a breath and tell her, “I had gotten permission from the art club. You can ask the Vice President she was the one who told me it was okay.” She doesn’t seem to believe you. Maybe she thinks Jade will cover go you since you’re both friends. “Mr. Strider I know that you and Ms. Harley are close. She is not a trustworthy source for you to get out of this.” What was she implying when she said ‘close’. You and Jade are just friends in the end. Nothing more and nothing less than that. You both decided on that when you were thirteen and she asked you out. “Well I stand by what I said. I’m innocent of all charges that are presently in question today.” She picks up Her phone and dials a number. “Hello is this Mr. Strider? Good I’m glad that I was able to reach you. I am going to need you to come in today to talk about your child’s behavior. Uh huh ok.” Did she really call your brother to talk about you. She calls Sollux into her office next. “Do you understand why called you in here Mr. Captor.”  Sollux looks as uninterested in this as he does in everything else. “No I don’t. I was just helping Dave here collect the posters when security told us to come here.” He sounds so annoyed like he had the option to come here. How valuable can his time be if he spends it all day on his computer. He mainly codes games with Equius for everyone else. And by everyone you mean Nepeta and Feferi. You aren’t allowed to leave until Mrs. Queen talks to your brother. 

You waited an hour for your brother to arrive.

When he does get here he bumps into the head of security Aaron Ranger. He’s a pretty cool guy when you get to know him. He has let you slide when you were late to class on more than one occasion. They look almost entrants in each other’s eyes. You manage to see all this from your seat in the counselor’s office. They talk for a bit about something then they split up. Dirk walks into the office and sits down in one of the many chairs. Mrs. Queen looks on in confusion when she see your brother enter. Did she think your dad was going to just pop in and see what’s wrong. No he’s in prison rotting for abusing you and your brother and drug trafficking. Dirk greets her with the same face your mother always used when talking with school administrators. Expect it isn’t to demean your credibility by saying you’re just trouble. He loves you and uses it to get you out of trouble. “Hello I’m Dave’s older brother and legal guardian Dirk Strider. I came as fast as I could we I got the call. What could be the problem that this could have gotten into.” Mrs. Queen falls for it and explain what is the problem. “Earlier today David was caught by a hall monitor vandalizing some school property. This is a minor infraction, but I felt the need to bring it to your attention.” Sollux is looking down at his feet uninterested by this show. “ I would would like to say that I was not vandalizing the posters. I was asked by the art club to get rid of them.” Your statement goes unnoticed by them. You end up being dismissed for the day and sent home. In the car ride to your apartment you and Dirk talk. “I don’t know why she was on my case bro. I was just going to use the remains of the poster to work on my drawing.” He rolls his eyes from behind his shades. “Little man she cares about you. She doesn’t want you to be screwing up your future. I she w didn’t care she would have marked your record and sent you back to class.” You give him your best not possible expression. “How do you know she didn’t mark me.” “First she called me and said she ain’t disciplining you. Second she sent you home after I assured her you would stop causing trouble. And third she spoke about you like she cared.” You arrive at your apartment and immediately realize you forgot your phone in the car. You just got a new cover for it yesterday with your birthday money. You, Jade, and Rose had your conjoined birthday party at Sammy’s pizzeria two days ago. For some odd reason the three of you were all born days apart from each other. John however was born five months after all of you though. You plan on flexing your new nineteen year old status to him for a while. Dirk comes in the hall holding your phone while laughing at you.

* * *

**Dirk**

**2:30 pm**

Your name is Dirk Strider and nervousness is all you can feel right now. A few hours ago you had to attend a quick meeting with your brother’s guidance counselor. You were working on your computer  when you got the call from his school. It didn’t sound urgent but you didn’t want to chance it with your brother. However that isn’t why you’re nervous. You’re nervous because you ran into your ex boyfriend from nine years old. You bumped into him at Dave’s school. He works their as the head of security which has always been his dream. He was a bit of a hard ass when it came to rules but he was lenient at times. You and him talked for a while until you remembered that Dave needed you. You gave him your number so you could catch up. Is he going to call? You don’t know what to expect since you were the one who broke up with him. He said that he wanted to go to college and get a life to support your little family. He loved Dave like a son, but you didn’t want to move. Dave was barely getting his life back on track after you had officially adopted him. It broke your heart since he was the one who you saw a future with. He was funny, handsome, smart, and caring. He was perfect, but Dave had to come before anything else. “Hey bro why are you looking at the phone like you’re waiting for it to say your child died in a war.” Dave your little brother and adopted son. “I’m waiting for an important call from someone. I have people who need to be answered as soon as the phone rings.” He just scoffs and continues to eat his pizza. “Is it that security guard from my school. I saw the way you were looking at him. It was like a Disney movie were two people just look at each other and decided to spend their entire lives together. Then at the last minute someone kidnaps you to spite him.” Why does everything have to be a reference to something else with him. “Dave do you remember the guy who I was dating when I adopted you?” He puts his plate of pizza down on the table. “Yeah I remember. You and him were about to bone when... Oh my god! Are you telling me the guy who I see everyday at school has slept with you!” Without any emotion you nod to him. He goes ballistic and starts shouting obscenities everywhere. You now have to go calm him down before he tries to begin a rant on how weird their relationship is. He may not look it but if something gets him going he won’t simply quit it. You get him to calm down and continue eating his pizza. You guess it might still be a little early for him to call you.

* * *

**Aaron**

**5:47 pm**

 The engine of your car shuts down as you get out of your car. Today has been a little hectic but you got through it. Your name is Aaron Ranger and you are incredibly worried right now. You saw your ex boyfriend from nine years ago at your job. He still looks drop dead gorgeous in a button up and kakis. You have been contemplating on calling him since he gave you his number. He must want you to call him right? You don’t know if he has forgiven what you did all those years ago yet. Everything was going great until you got accepted into your dream college. It was all expenses paid ride. You were so happy that you wanted to invite your boyfriend Dirk and his adopted son who is his brother to join you. You took him to dinner and told him the great news. He told you that he couldn’t join you because Dave lives here. It was fine at first so you said ok, but later on you started having some drinks. They turned you bitter and you made the biggest mistake you could have made. You told him you wish Dave wasn’t alive at all. You saw the tears form on his face and he punched you hard. You woke up the next morning in your parent’s house with a sore jaw and a bad hangover. Glimpses of what happened the night before flooded in your head. Your phone started ringing with his ringtone, so you grab answered it. He was still crying but he was able to tell you what was on his mind. He ended it and changed everything to avoid you. Your life continued on but it was a lot darker than what you wanted. You got your dream job, but you had no one to share the glory with. You stop thinking about what happened all those years ago. Going to bed is what you want to do. Maybe have some whiskey to drown out some of the pain of bad memories of past mistakes. A bowl full of coins and whatever was in your pockets at the time sits on a table next to the door. One day you’ll use the change to buy yourself a ring to give to the special person in your life. That’s how your father got your mother her ring. You pull out what the cashier gave you after you got your morning coffee and a card with Dirk’s number. It wouldn’t hurt to talk to him for a while. “Hello this is the Strider residence. If you need to know where to drop off the pizza hit one. If you need advice on how to be cool hit three. Two is only for those with a certified Strider pass.” You hear Dave’s voice on the other side of the phone. “I don’t have pizza or need advice but I still want to talk. Can you put your brother on the phone.” The phone gets passed away to someone else. “Hello Dirk Strider here.” “Hi Dirk I just wanted to say hello and ask if you wanted to grab a coffee or something. We could get to know each and what we’re doing.” This is already weird. “Uhh sure. Does Tomorrow sound good to you?” Well at least you can say you tried. Wait what. “Uhh sure that sounds good.” The both of you stay silent waiting for the other to say something. The call gets cut off when Dave hits the decline button. Maybe the universe is trying to say something, but unfortunately you can’t hear it over the sound of your heart.


	29. Tell Them The News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some NSFW content but not really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suck at using commas so please forgive me for that. I’m just a poor innocent person writing fanfics during these summer months. 
> 
> Also yeah it’s getting a little less safe for work in here. Remember most of them are hormonal teenagers living life. They are prone to acts of passion and whatnot.

**John**

The sun shines bright in sky as the wind flutters in your hair. You are currently making out with Terezi under the tree behind the school. The moment of passion the two of you share is filled with more lustful actions. Your mouth lays claim on her long and smooth neck. The little noises that she makes drives you wild. Your arms pull her in on instinct alone. A primal desire to hold what you have consumes you. Her hands begin searching every inch of your flesh. You start ravage the clothes that separates the flesh from another's. A moan that dares to escape her lips rebounds in touch. She whispers in your ears like your some horse. “I’m pregnant, and you’re not the father.” That single phrase shatters your adolescent mind. The world begins to destroy it. Shards of what is are surrounding you from every angle. As you are panicking, you see Dave’s corpse, an omen of a doomed reality. You jolt up in your bed, covered in sweat and other bodily fluids. 

**5:37 am**

Today is Friday, December 5, 2014. You’ve just had a nightmare, that may have also have been a wet dream. Does your mind choose to doubt the girl who you are romantically involved with. Maybe. Rose probably has the answer to this question, but she will try to find every fault in your psyche if you ask. You don’t want another girl entering the deepest parts of your teenage imagination, especially one who is your sister and closest friend. You might as well stay up since you have to go to school in an hour. You decide to also get ready. What shirt should you wear for today. Should you wear the blue henley that you are always seen in, the white button up with suspenders that your dad bought you, or the black dress shirt for formal gatherings. Does the choice really matter, it’s just clothes that you’ll wear for the day and be done with. The henley will do. You grab the shirt off the rack and put it on your chair. Now time to choose pants, shoes, and accessories. If it took you a while to figure out which shirt to wear, then by all law you’ll take long finding stuff to match. Dave doesn’t need to do his whole fashion police skit because you aren’t matching. The blue shirt, grey jeans, blue sneakers, and watch is what you’ve been decided on. You grab your bag from the desk and see a photo you took with Terezi a few weeks ago. The premier for The Black Spirit a movie that was proclaimed as the movie of the decade. Terezi said she wanted to go see it. You of course told her she was blind so she couldn’t see it. The movie wasn’t that good, but you still had fun with her. She pulled you into a photo booth and kissed you on the cheek. That night was great. It’s 6:30 right now so better get a move on downstairs if you want breakfast. Your father looks more jittery today, he must be excited about something. “Hey dad what’s got you so excited.” He has his back aimed at you, while trying to suppress a chuckle. Roxy is trying to hide her smile behind the daily newspaper. Rose is busy with her nose in a book. You get your answer after breakfast. You were eating a bowl of oatmeal with apple slices when your dad asked for Rose and your attention. “Kids I have some great news that is of upmost importance.” Rose puts down her book and you stop eating. “You guys will be getting a sibling in a few months. Your mother is about four and a half months pregnant.” Wow you didn’t think this would ever happen again. You and Rose is are both shocked at this sudden revelation. This could be your chance to finally have a sibling. You will miss your other siblings but maybe these will live. The rest of the time during breakfast is silent until Roxy gets a phone call. By then you head to school.

The sight of Jade looking absolutely miserable catches your attention. She is sitting on a bench next to the school looking exhausted and disgusted. “Hey Jade. Are you ok because you look terrible.” Her skin looks more pale like she’s rarely goes out in the sun and her hair is more messy. “I’m been throwing up constantly and everything that I like to eat smells awful. Bacon omelettes used to smell wonderful, now it smells like rotting meat. Then my grandpa told me that I have to take these vitamins that are hard to swallow. He says that they help with the morning sickness. Oh yeah my grandpa knows about the baby. He found the test and confronted me about them. I told him the truth about the party. He has been very supportive.” That makes sense. Jade’s grandfather tries to be a tough love kind of guy, but fails by not staying away. “Did you tell anyone else know about the baby?” She looks away from you. “No, only you and my grandpa know. I don’t see any reason to tell anyone else about this.” You grimace at that statement. Does she plan on not telling Tavros about the little human growing inside of her. “Jade there is one person you should tell about the baby. They need to know.” You really stress the last sentence. To your dismay she doesn’t catch on. “Who should know? Is it Dave? Dave has nothing to do with me getting pregnant, or any unrequited feelings. He is busy having his romantic drama with Karkat.” How did she not think about Tavros. Both her and Terezi told you that they were going out, as partners. “Jade don’t you think you should tell your boyfriend Tavros about you being pregnant. Especially since it isn’t his kid in their. Believe me when I say you have to tell him otherwise he will resent you.” Jade’s face sifts into a worried expression. “I didn’t think about telling him. Does that make me a bad person, for not telling the guy I’m with that I’m pregnant. He is the first guy that hasn’t asked me about my past.” You don’t want to overwhelm her with the choice. “Jade it’s ok if you haven’t thought about telling him. It hasn’t been very long since you yourself found out, so you still have time. Just remember that you will have to later.” He accepts your advice and tries to go inside. You have to help her up in her weakened state. The morning bell is about to ring, so you have to rush to homeroom.

* * *

**Jade**

**3:15 pm**

The fear of being abandoned has always been attached to you. Your friend John has talked with you about telling your boyfriend Tavros about your condition. Being a pregnant teenager who’s boyfriend isn’t the father is hard. It would have been easier if Tavros wasn’t so nice. When the symptoms first started Tavros made sure you were okay by buying you medicine and soup. He is the most caring boyfriend you’ve had in a while. Brad may have been the most adventurous, but when you need him the most he left. Austin was the only interested in you being his girlfriend for school. He wasn’t very academic gifted like you, so he used you to pass his tests. Taylor was just an asshole. He was only in it for sex. He destroyed your self esteem by constantly putting you down. It took a while for your friends to fix his damage. Then again he came to school with a black eye and a few bruises after John had a talk with him. You did have a little fling with Dave during middle school, but it didn’t work out. He found out he was into guys and you were too demanding for signs of affection. To say your love like was bad, was a complete understatement. Then came Tavros rolling in his silver wheelchair. He has same in interest, goals, and ideals as you do. It’s like fate had brought you the greatest guy, but then it decided on destroying that relationship by making you pregnant. You guess you will tell him right now. You walk towards Tavros’ locker, where you see him talking to Gamzee. “Hey Tavros could I have a minute I have something to tell you. It personal so can you come with me.” Gamzee higher than he usually does. “What’s the problem sis. You look a little stressed out and that is making me stressed.” He pulls out a baggy of some herbs. You know that they aren’t illegal, but they aren’t allowed in school.  Before you can say anything, Tavros takes you to a side room that is empty. The school should really use these rooms instead of leaving them empty. “You said you needed to talk to me Jade. I’m here to talk.” He probably thinks you wanna talk about something that’s not that important. “Tavros you’re the sweetest guy who I have dated. It hurts that I am going to tell you this.” You begin to see the fear in Tavros’ eyes become apparent. “I have slept with other people before we got together. I’m not a virgin like you were expecting me to be.” Tavros let’s the air in his lungs go. “I thought you were going to say you cheated on me or something. It doesn’t matter to me if you were with other people before we got together. I love you for who you are Jade and nothing is going to change that.” Well you’re glad that he loves you even if he knows what you’ve done. To bad you have to reveal the real news to him. “Yeah well that’s not the real reason why I wanted to talk. I had intercourse with a random guy at a Halloween party. I’m pregnant Tavros, and I want to keep it.” He knows what being pregnant means since he works at a animal clinic. His face is stuck on a speechless expression. “I’m sorry that this had to happen. I know that this was going to be a good relationship, but this happened.” You turn to leave when you feel something holding you back. “Like I said I don’t mind. Jade you’re the only girl who has given me hope. I had  self esteem issues before I met you, so I owe you. It may not be ideal that you are carrying someone else’s kid, but I love you none the less. Anyway you’ll need my help with the peer pressure, since you’re going to be a teen mother.” You are crying right now. You honestly expected him to leave you without a second thought. However, he chooses to still be with you despite the fact that you’re pregnant. He has his shoulder ready for you to cry on. That is exactly what you do.

* * *

**Karkat**

**4:30 pm**

You’re at your after school job since it’s extra money. The pay isn’t that good but it’s certainly isn’t terrible. The extra income has allowed you to purchase a Netflix account and a small gift for your moirail Kanaya. All you have to do is push the buttons for orders and occasionally get yelled at. It’s basically every time your computer freezes and Sollux has to help you. Anyway let’s get to the point. You were ringing up some customers, when you saw Dave’s older brother and the head of security Aaron Ranger walk in. Did Dave get into trouble again? He better not have otherwise you’ll have to yell at him. He seems to listen when you specifically yell at him. The two adults came up and ordered two coffees. Aaron doesn’t seem to recognize you when he walked up to order. You guess the uniform and the hat completely changes your appearance. They sit in a booth next to the door and begin talking. It must be personal since they are awkwardly sitting while the other talks. You stop paying attention when more customers come in. It’s mainly a repeat of the same customers from yesterday. Parents and their offspring getting food, college students buying drinks while using the WiFi, and the occasional stoner getting the dollar burgers. You love the college students because they know you don’t want to hear complaints. The parents however are a little annoying when they think their entitled to things. Your manger has actually put a button on your screen when someone like that comes along. Without fail they call him like he’s their butler and that’s his. You ring up the customers in the line, and do some busy work like restock the ketchup pump. People must love ketchup because you have to refill that gallon pump every two hours. Dave’s brother and Aaron leave after two hours of talking. Your shift ends in about an hour so you work and go home.

When you walk into your room you see Terezi giving Sollux a box of something called tampons. “Did you know that the humans uses these when it’s their paling cycle. They use it to stop the bleeding from ruining their clothes. Also only human girls get it. ” Tavros is on his computer doing some intense studying. He has notes on his wheelchair chair and on his lap in bed. “Hey Karkat have you started on your paling cycle yet.” Why is Sollux asking you this, it’s a very personal question. “Sollux isn’t Karkat always on his paling cycle, with how moody he is.” Now Terezi. “You fuckasses I haven’t started yet. I don’t know when I will so can you leave me alone.” Why can’t they understand that you’re a late bloomer in everything. Your only 5’2 which is pretty short for a troll. Nepeta’s height however is normal because the olive blood thing. You’re either big or small as an olive blood without anything  in between. Mutant bloods are unknown since your blood is an anomaly in the species. Sollux grabs the box that Terezi gave him and throws it at you. “Well when you do you can say you were.” You begrudgingly put them in your drawer and pack some in your bag. From what you heard from Aradia and Equius they tend to get messy. Only seven of the  eleven friends you got have started their cycles. It’s Aradia, Tavros, Sollux, Nepeta, Terezi, Equius, and Eridan. The others are waiting for it to start patiently like you. Terezi also gives a box to Tavros. “Hey when does yours start Tavros. I can help you get a few boxes with the help of your matesprite Jade. Oh what you look up.” Tavros closes his laptop to hide whatever he was looking up from Terezi. “Mine starts next week and what I look up is my secret to keep.” When did Tavros get this secretive. You don’t know and don’t care, it’s time for you to go to bed.


	30. Feelings And Investigative Topics

* * *

**Tavros**

**5: 46 pm**

The feeling of dread fills you, as you realize how difficult life will be . Today is Wednesday, December 17, 2014. You’ve been doing research on human pregnancy, and how to be a father, during your break. Ever since Jade told you about her situation you’ve been researching. Trolls have it easier in the subject of reproduction. Human females have to carry them for nine months, while being heavily hormonal. There’s also the fact the media will paint Jade as a floozy, since she’s a teenager. Humans have some weird social norms. Your manager Alberto enters the break room. “Tavros I’ve noticed that you’v been on your computer a lot during your break. Is there something you’re worried about.” Alberto is a sixty seven Hispanic veterinarian. He has a family that you have met before, maybe he can help you. “Yeah I have been researching stuff about being pregnant. Do you have some information about the topic.” Alberto’s eye brown reach is hairline when he realizes what you say. “What’s a young niño like you doing asking about being pregnant.” Does he think you want be pregnant. “I’m not looking to get pregnant. My human girlfriend is pregnant with a from a one night stand. It happened before we got together.” He gives you a nod. “Oh are you and her looking to get rid of it.” “No we’re keeping it.” He looks even more confused than before. “Why are you dating a girl who’s pregnant with someone else’s baby. Unless she plans on getting back with the other person, you don’t keep it.” Why are you are you supposed to dump something if their pregnant. Don’t movies always show kids with stepparents. Doesn’t John have a stepmother. “She nice, and it’s not like people will assume that the kid is mine. It’s her choice anyway.” He puts his hand on your shoulder. “Is she pressuring you into this. Is she using sex to manipulate you Tavros.” You’re shocked that he would think of that. “Sir she isn’t pressuring me into anything. She’s not that kind of person, and we haven’t even had sex at all. She said we can go steady.” He looks stressed out now. “Tavros I have seen what the path you’re on can lead to. If you don’t get out now she will drag you down and leave you when she’s done! Please take my advice to heart!” He leaves you alone to ponder on your choice. 

 You went home when your shift ended. You entered your room to see Karkat was watching a movie with Dave. They were sitting far apart, while simultaneously being close enough to get popcorn from a bowl in between them. They seem to tolerate each other in private, yet bicker when in front of others. You should leave them alone, since you need to call Jade. Grabbing your portable battery and leaving the room quietly. You go up to the roof for privacy. The phone rings for a minute. “Hey Jade. I wanted to ask some questions about this situation.” “You can ask anything Tavros. I have been waiting for you to ask for a while now.” A quick in and out. “Are you keeping the baby because you care for it or because you want a relationship with the father? I know it sounds rude, but I need to know the truth Jade.” You hear heavy breathing on the other side. “Tavros I want to keep the baby because I don’t want to kill it. I don’t want to have the feeling of what if.” You feel bad for having to ask her, but you needed it. “That’s good. I needed to ask you this because my boss told me you might be trying to trick me. I’m sorry!” You and Jade talk for another five minutes when you have to hang up when Gamzee called you. It a quick five second talk. “Hey Karkat could you tell my moirail that I’m in my room.” He hangs up before you can say something. Why did he think you were Karkat, and why is he lying about being in his room? He’s probably with that pothead Cal. They have been hanging out a lot more since thanksgiving. Maybe they have found a mutual friendship in weed and ICP. You hope he doesn’t end up hurting himself with the substances.

* * *

**Terezi**

**A few hours ago 2:15 pm**

The chemistry teacher had given the whole class a pop quiz today. It’s unfortunate that you don’t understand chemistry. John does though, but he is in his advanced classes doing what smart kids do. You managed to get a decent grade on the test, but you could do better. Waitressing at the Lone Burro isn’t your life goal. Speaking of waitressing today is you day off since the restaurant is closed for renovations. You go to the last class of the day, English. It’s mainly revising text and learning about long words. You share that class with John, and everyone else in the prospet group. John has been a little distant in the past two weeks. “Hey John did something happen? You’ve been less talkative for a while already, so what happened.” He looks sad. “My stepmom told me and Rose that she was pregnant.” Why would he be sad. He is the most family oriented person you know, and he’s sad that he’s getting a sibling. “How is that ba...” He interrupts you. “It’s made me think about the siblings I could’ve had if my mother didn’t die. They had names and everything.” Humans are nurturing and sympathetic to their offspring than trolls. Trolls just provide their genetic material for the mothergrub, and forget about the kid. It’s not like you can you’ll ever run into them, since the mothergrub takes a century to produce grubs. “That sucks. However you’re getting siblings now.” He looks like you did when Vriska left you for someone else. “Terezi can you join me after school? I have someplace to show you.” You agree to his request and wait for school to end.

You get into the car John drives. He takes you to a beautifully decorated graveyard on the edge of the city. The area is surrounded by a black fence with golden gothic accents. Trees dot the perimeter of the property. John takes you to a grave that is decorated with items of significance. You press your hand onto the engraving. It’s a grave for three people. Mary Egbert: A loving wife and mother who’s beauty leaves the sun dim. Jane Emily Egbert and Juliet Silvia Egbert: Two souls that were taken before they could see the world. The gravestone is made of a fine granite, showing no expense. “How did they die?” You speak barely above a whisper, so not to alarm John. He doesn’t move his eyes from the grave. “It was January 17th, and we were going to my grandparents for a family reunion. My mom was planning on revealing the names that she and my dad had decided on. The smile on her face is forever imprinted in my mind. It moments before we got t-boned by a drunk driver. She suffered the most damage while me and my dad were left battered. My sisters didn’t survive. My mother managed to say goodbye before she died in front of me.” You see tears flow down John’s face, like a waterfall. Having to relive this has clearly brought up bad memories. You wrap John in your arms and feel his head fall onto yours. The relationship you share with John can’t be described by quadrants. He is both your matesprite who you and moirail who you trust. The both of you stand hugging each other like the end is near.

* * *

**Joel**

**6:50**

You are at city hall with your friend William. He has asked for your help in dismantling Felt Correctional Center. The both of you have been investigating this for about a month already. Rumors have been circulating about the conditions, and abuse that trolls face when in there. If this is true then it will make dismantling the center easier. You estimate that you’ll be finished around New Years. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being short. I’m tired since it’s 12 o’clock am.


	31. Christmas troubles

**John**

**5:00 pm**

Today is Wednesday, December 24, 2014. Your father is throwing a Christmas Eve party at the house. You’ve invited family, friends, and coworkers. You’re dressed in your white dress shirt with suspenders. Dave and his brother were the first of many to show up. They had a giant bag of possible ironic gifts with them. Then it was Jade and her grandpa. You know Jade hasn’t told the others about her surprise pregnancy. It’s embarrassing due to prior events of pregnancy. Your parent’s coworkers came in after them with plates of food. William comes with his girlfriend Penny. They brought a green bean casserole. The final party to show up was the tolls that you and your friends had invited. Terezi, Kanaya, Karkat, and Tavros had arrived carrying presents also. That is when the party gets started. Dave sets up his speakers in the living room and plays classic Christmas songs. Everyone gets in line for food. After an hour or two you decide to socialize with people. You should probably go talk to Jade and see how she’s doing. “Hey Jade. How are you feeling today?” Jade looks way happier than she did yesterday. You guess her and Tavros have worked out their problems. “Yeah I’m doing fine. You wouldn’t believe what Tavros got me for Christmas.” Oh you can imagine. For the past two weeks Tavros has been asking you, Rose, and Dave on what to get Jade. So it’s either another dog or tickets to go see Fallout Boy at the Starrs stadium. Whatever it is, has Jade jumping with joy. You can see Tavros coming out of the kitchen holding two cans of Tab. “Oh hey John. Your Christmas lights look absolutely beautiful outside.” You also love the Christmas lights, Roxy really knows how to decorate a home. “Why thank you, but you should give the compliment s to my stepmom. She’s the one who has been in charge of decorating the house.” He gives Jade her soda and continues the conversation. “Hey John since you’re human, can you tell me where I can find easy information on human biology. I have been working on a project for school, so I need to know.” He looked extremely sheepish we he ask you where to find the information. You know what he’s looking for specifically. “I have some books that might help you. They are however about the reproductive health of women.” You see his eyes light up. “Uhh yeah that’s perfect. Can I please get them today, so I can get started on the project right away.” You crack a smile and give Jade a look. “Dude I know about Jade’s little situation.” Tavros’ eyes go wide when you tell him that. You start to chuckle at his face, until you hear your Dirk cough behind you. “What situation is our little Jade in?” He is drinking one of the beers your dad bought for the party. “Oh, Jade has been a little over the top with her period. It scared poor Tavros here, so he’s looking for information on how to deal with it. You know how angry Jade can get.” The image of Jade throwing her fuzzy pen at Dave, then immediately crying is unforgettable. Dirk just laughs and gives Tavros a pat on the back. “She may act like the Incredible Hulk for a week once a month, but she’s actually very caring. Then again she’s your girlfriend dude.” He walks into the kitchen to eat some of the food everyone cooked. Tavros looks brown in the face when he leaves. Was he scared of letting Dirk learn about Jade’s pregnancy. Probably. You don’t waste any time and grab those books for Tavros and Jade from the study. 

You run into Rose in the hallway leading to the study. She seems to be trying to straighten her sleeved lavender cocktail dress. “John what are you doing here!” She’s surprised when you accidentally bump into her. “I’m going into the study to grab something I had gotten for Jade. It’s very important to her.” Rose grabs your arm. “John I need you’re help. I’m trying to impress Kanaya with my handcrafted outfit, so I need you to tell me if it looks good.” Now that you think about it, the dress she is wearing does looks new. “It looks absolutely stunning. Now can I go!” You say the last bit with some annoyance. She pulls on your arm again. “How do you talk to someone that you have feelings for. Do I just walk up and say I like them, or do I try to court them another way.” Never have you thought that you would have to give advice to Rose. “From my experience of having three girlfriends you have to be blunt sometimes. Sam only agreed after the third time and Emily agreed after the first. Terezi was a special case. She agreed to go out with me after I insulted her looks. Just be yourself. I’m sure Kanaya likes you back.” She gives you a nervous nod, and rejoins the party. You go into the study and grab the books. These should count as extra presents to them right. You already have some gifts for them under the tree, but do these count as extra gifts. This isn’t the time to be thinking about this. Just grab the books and give them to Jade or Tavros. As you were quietly walking out of the study, Karkat spots you. “John why the fuck are you doing sneaking around here, this is your fucking house.” The volume of Karkat’s short rant attracts Dave. Why does he have to be so loud. “Hey Kitkat what are you and Johnny arguing about? Oh are you bringing more presents out for everyone.” Dave noticed the books that you were carrying. “No I’m just grabbing some books I left in the study. If you don’t mind me I have to get going.” Dave let’s you go, but Karkat makes a grab for one of the books. He does it when you walk past him. Dave sees this happening and grabs the book from Karkat. “Kitkat this isn’t yours.” He looks at the cover and reads out loud. “What to expect when you’re expecting. Why do you have this book John?” You better come up with an explanation fast. “Dave remember my Stepmom Roxy is pregnancy. I just wanted to have a quick read and see if there’s any information for me.” Dave doesn’t believe you. “John please don’t lie to me. I just want to know why are you carrying these books.” His eyes widen as if he solved the greatest crime. “John did you get Terezi pregnant? Did you or did you not plant your Egbert seed deep within Terezi? When your dad found Terezi in your bed after Halloween you were having post coital cuddles with her.” Karkat looks confused ,while Dave looks like he is about to have a panic attack. “No, Dave I didn’t impregnate Terezi. I was just getting this books for someone.” He becomes more panicked. “Who the he’ll would need.” Before he could finish, Jade walks into the hallway. “I’m the one who needs the books Dave.”

Dave stands in shock at how Jade is the one who needs the books. “Jade you aren’t.” Without any hesitation she says, “Yes Dave. I’m pregnant.” Dave is left speechless, Karkat is regretting his choice to snatch the book, and you’re irritated. Jade gets the book from Dave and the others that you’re carrying. Karkat decides its his time to question what’s going on. “What the hell does being pregnant mean, and why is it so weird to you guys?” Jade is the one to answer his questions. “Being pregnant means I have a little human growing inside of me. It’s weird because humans usually get married, and wait until their older to get pregnant.” Karkat understands a little. “How did you get pregnant?” Jade just takes a deep breath and tells him. “I went to a Halloween party that John’s cousin had invited me to and I got drunk. I had sex with some random frat guy somewhere, and woke up in a girl’s shower room.” Dave finally gets his head back on. “Jade you were the least likely person I know to become a pregnant teenager. What about Tavros? Are you planning on stringing him along with you?” Jade gets a little teary eyed at Dave’s comment. “He knows. I told him that I was pregnant a week after I found out myself. He chose to stay with me regardless of the situation.”  You feel bad and you didn’t even do anything to hurt Jade. Dave just storms off. He will get over Jade not trusting him to tell him about the pregnancy eventually. Tavros rolls up from around the corner to console Jade on having a fight with Dave. Karkat goes after Dave. The party isn’t going very well for Jade, so you also try to console her with a hug. She accepts and cries on your shirt. Ugh the things you do for friends. Later you decide to stop ignoring your lovely girlfriend Terezi. She is sitting next to the fireplace in a cute red lace dress. The dress has a certain way of bringing detail to her slender figure. She is much fuller and less bony on the sides.She has gotten back on a healthy eating schedule ever since you took her to the guidance counselor. “Hey Terezi, I came to check up on you. I have been ignoring you for most of the party, but now I want to spend the rest of my time with you.” Terezi stops starring at the fireplace to hug you. “I know. I was about to go find you and bring your butt over here.” The two of you share a kiss and continue to talk until midnight arrives. The apartments the trolls live in has stopped enforcing a curfew by locking the doors. Now they can go home much later than before.

The time to pass out presents has arrived. You get a Rolex watch from your dad, a game from your stepmom, a poster from Dave, a sweater from Rose, a book from Jade, and necklace from Terezi. The necklace that you received from Terezi has a little blue wave motif on the front ,with the words “You’re my breath” on the back. The wave is the same one you have on your Halloween costume. You give Terezi a hug to tell her it’s a great gift. When it’s time for Terezi to open her presents she got a new pair of glasses from Dave, a movie from Rose, a jacket from Jade, a key to the house from your parents, and a stuffed plush from you. The plush is similar to the one that she got from her lusus, but is teal instead of white. It also has a giant Libra symbol on the belly in red. Terezi practically jumps on you, and kisses you for her gift. Good thing you gave it to her away from everyone else, or it would be very awkward right now. When you rejoin everyone else you find Rose and Kanaya linking hands. They have decided to announce the start of their romantic relationship. Most of everyone claps except Dave. He is still mad about Jade not telling him about her pregnancy. You can’t really blame Jade for wanting to keep it a secret. Dave isn’t the best when it comes to keeping secrets or lying. He has a nervous quirk, that causes him to ramble on when he’s lying about something. The party continues on even when people start leaving. The trolls are among the last people to leave, since your dad said he was going to drop them off. Kanaya is still hanging out with Rose, while you and Terezi are having a talk. “Did you hear about the Felt Correctional Center being under investigation. William is the one spearheading the entire operation.” She is sitting on the couch with her legs on top of yours. “Yeah I heard about it. I don’t really care about that place anymore. Vriska has stopped being my moirail, so I no longer have to take care of her!” She has some venom in her words. Vriska did break Terezi’s heart and world when they stopped being moirails. Maybe Vriska shouldn’t get out of there. Maybe. You share one last tender moment with Terezi by hugging her and inviting her to your grandparents for New Years.


	32. New Years

**Jade**

**4:30 pm**

Today is Wednesday, December 31, 2014. You still have feeling of animosity towards your friend Dave. Why are you mad at Dave? Well you’re almost 9 weeks pregnant, and didn’t tell him. Why didn’t you tell him that you were pregnant, if he is your friend. You didn’t tell him because he’s a blabbermouth. Dave has never been known to keep secrets, let alone lie without cracking. He is like an open book that is terrible at hiding anything. You do feel a little guilty about not telling him, but it was probably for the best you didn’t. Dave has yet to get over the whole Emily fiasco. Of course you also hate her to, but he hates her unlike the rest of you. You didn’t want him to think you were becoming like her. You are a pregnant teenager like she was. Your situation is very different from her’s, but Dave might still feel it’s the same. Damn his stubborn ass self. You are currently at your house celebrating New Years with your grandpa Jacob , dog Bec, and boyfriend Tavros. Your grandpa has invited Penny and her boyfriend William. Penny has been a big help, for the past two months. She has given you advice on how to quit being an immature teenager, and how to not ruin your future. The baby will be a minor inconvenience for you, but it will drive you to do better. Tavros has also been a big help. He has been by your side as emotional support. He has also taken charge in helping you learn about the pregnancy from books, and the internet. Tavros should’ve be here by now. It’s only takes fifteen minutes for the bus to come here from the troll district. He said he left his apartment a while ago. Where could he be. Before you can come up with an answer, you hear someone press the doorbell. That’s probably him. Your grandfather is the one who opens the door. “Oh hello Tavros. About time you arrived, Jade was about to print the missing persons posters.” He has spent to much time hanging out with Dirk. Tavros rolls pass him in his wheelchair. Then Bec sprints towards him, to give him his famous tongue in the mouth kiss. Lucky Tavros has felt with big dogs before, so he stops Bec before he can get started. He gives Bec a quick belly rub and rolls to you. 

Tavros pulls out a a bag of your favorite chips from his satchel. “Sorry for being late. I had to deal with Karkat arguing with Sollux about some jacket. You would think they were kismesises, based on how angry they get with each other.” He hands you the bag of chips and sits on the couch. “Did you manage to finish the books John gave you? I finished defining all the complex words on mine. Remember you have your first ultrasound in a week from now.” Wow. He has taken being a parent for your kid very seriously. Why couldn’t you have met him earlier, when you’re heart was being broken by other boys. “I’m still trying to finish the book on the first trimester. For a book explaining all the bodily functions, it doesn’t explain the words. How am I supposed to know what a doula is. It said consult your doula on the first page.” Your grandfather is in the kitchen checking on the roast. He hears about your plight and decides to put in his own experience. “When your grandmother was pregnant with your aunt, we had no idea on how to handle a pregnancy. She didn’t take those vitamins that you always hear about for development. We just waited until her older sister enlightened us. We were starring at her in awe when she said the morning sickness can be dampened with a tea mix. After she was born when studied up, and became were pros when she was pregnant with your father.” Well that’s somewhat reassuring. You begin to get up from the couch, when you hear some knocking on the door. It’s Penny and her boyfriend. She has on casual clothes instead of her regular suit. Now that she has arrived the party has officially begun. You’ll have dinner with everyone and watch the New Years ball drop. No fireworks because you have a dog and a WW2 veteran. It’s best to not cause a panic. 

* * *

**Dave**

**6:30 pm**

The sound of your sick beats playing fills your room. Your bro has always supported your hobby of making music. You could chill out on your bed like a penguin in the arctic. You say could because Karkat is in your room. There’s something about him that seems to pull you in. You don’t know what it could be since he is just a little angry ball of a sweater. He’s about nine inches shorter than you, but doesn’t stop him from cussing you out like he’s taller. He doesn’t do that to you though. Just yelling at people who are wronging him in some way. You think that guy who cut in-front of him last week is still try to understand how he got cussed out. Karkat’s a natural when it comes to yelling facts, and insults at random people. He could be a professional rapper if he put his mind to it. Now you’re stuck in your head again. “Strider, why do you have that idiotic expression on your face? Did you finally realize that you’re not as cool as you think you are.” Nah you’re too cool to be thinking about how cool you are. Cool kids don’t ask that question ever. “Nah, I was thinking about what John must be going through right now. He is taking Terezi to his grandparents, who are a little old fashioned.” Karkat’s face grimaces at that. “Oh great, John has racist grandparents who will probably say Terezi is dirty. How the hell is John so nice if he has this many fucks in his life.” Why did he assume that they were racist. “No, they’re not racist. They’re more examine the date the kid brought to see if they are family material. It’s funny when you hear what they have to say.” Karkat’s face doesn’t change expression. “So they’re judgmental.” “Somewhat. They said Emily was good since she was basically attached to John. Also his drunk grandmother said she had good birthing hips in front of everyone. John and his entire family was mortified while I was dying of laughter.” You begin laughing at the memory. What highly inappropriate judgment will Terezi receive if John’s grandma gets drunk. Karkat also begins to laugh. “How fucking ironic is it that she did give birth to someone else’s kid. Oh god by sides hurt.” The both of you continue to laugh at the embarrassment of John. Then it hits you. You were an ass to Jade when you found out that she was pregnant. You were angry that she didn’t tell you, but she was probably scared of you abandoning her. The Emily incident is one of the few times that you punched a girl, on purpose. You of course wouldn’t punch Jade, but you haven’t talked to her since that night. Maybe you should give her a call and apologize for yelling at her. 

Before you can do that your brother calls you to the living room. You and Karkat step outside of your room to see what’s up. Dirk has invited Aaron from school to hang out. It looks like he brought fireworks for tonight. “Hello Dave.” Karkat is behind you, so Aaron can’t see him. He comes around from behind you and gets noticed. “Oh I didn’t you were friends with Dave, Karkat. Lucky I bought an excess of these.” You would be lying if you said there wasn’t tension in the air. So much so that the internet has made memes on how thicc it is. Dirk ends the silence by telling you why he called you over. “Ok, if y’all are hungry, the foods ready. I have chicken, beans, and sausages in the stove. The steaks are in the roaster.” You guess you are hungry. You get beans and sausages for both sustenance and for the meme. 

* * *

**Rose**

**9:27 pm**

You’re at your stepbrother’s grandparent’s house for New Years. They are also your grandparents since they have accepted you as family. It’s wonderful. Your grandma Juliet Filio is helping your aunt Lucy Martin clean up the little kids. Vinny is covered in grease from his plate of food, while Jeff has food all over his mouth. How they managed to get dirty despite being hand fed is beyond you. You don’t expect to have any children because of how messy they can be. They’re sugar addicted gremlins, but they are cute. Your date Kanaya is talking to your mom about something in hushed tones. You hope your mother isn’t embarrassing you by talking about your childhood. You decide to get it out of your mind by turning your head. You see John is with Terezi and your grandpa Leo Filio on the couch. Terezi is sorta sitting on John’s lap and the couch at the same time. Your stepdad Joel is just watching John to make sure nothing happens. Emily has really messed everyone up. You are currently at the dinner table picking at your plate of vegetables. Your cousin Maria starts a conversation. “Oh Rose your date is really pretty. I always knew you would be the one to get the prettiest girl in school.” Maria is one of the best cousins you have in this family. “Maria watch what you say. John may come here to defend his girlfriend’s beauty.” The both of you share a little laugh. “I know that Rose. Have you seen how they act around each other, it’s like they are married. They have the need to be together with the bickering over what to watch on the T.V.” She’s right. They have that perfect relationship without that cliche having to always touch each image. You’re surprised they aren’t doing more right now. “Yeah I guess you’re right. They are the perfect couple that doesn’t look like they will break up. I wonder how do you get that.” Maria sighs. “Me too. My relationship with Bill has been going downhill for a while. It’s weird because we are always kissing and we agree on everything.” As she says that Terezi gets wrapped in John’s arms. The are now sitting on a single cushion, watching whatever movie is playing. You say, “To think they used to hate each other in a romantic way.” She just nods her head.

One hour later 

You have finally gotten Kanaya back from your mother’s interrogation. She probably doesn’t know that she was being questioned to see if she is good. Your mother always had that way of questioning people without them being aware of it. “Rose you’re mother is just lovely. She knew everything about clothes design and listened to me. I enjoy my talk with her, but it was a little weird that she always questioned me.” Wow you thought she wouldn’t have noticed that. “I’m pretty sure she was sizing you up. She is just very protective of me is all.” Kanaya’s face softens. “I should hope so, it’s not everyday a mother sees her beautiful daughter date another girl.” You try to hide your blushing cheeks under your scarf. Damn Kanaya and her complements. “I’m pretty sure she thinks your pretty face is going to break my heart. You’re my first girlfriend.” Kanaya now also has a blush, except hers is a beautiful dark green. You take her to the couch next to the fireplace. There the two of you talk. “I’m glad you invited me to your step grandparents. It’s very welcoming and beautiful.” Honestly it was your mother who invited her over, you were too nervous about asking her out. “It’s my pleasure. It’s not like I had anyone else I could call as my date.” Was that good, you don’t know. You try to signal John to help you out. You’v never invited a date over to a family gathering. John sees you and comes to your rescue. “Kanaya, what are you wishing for at midnight. It has to be special, or extremely important to you.” That gets Kanaya thinking. You can lead on with that. “I plan on wishing for a better year than this year. I had to much time on the computer in my house.” 

* * *

**Terezi**

**11: 30 pm**

In about thirty minutes from now the new year will begin. You won’t lie this year was pretty shitty. You had been dumped by your moirail and had fallen into depression. Your friends may have been friendly to you, but they wouldn’t help you. Being close to Vriska has caused you to push others away from you. You were lost for a while until John showed you that you were loved. Hopefully this year will be good. You are currently outside with John’s entire family and Kanaya. John goes behind the car with his dad. “Hey John, why does it smell like someone threw a bunch of old kool aid packets into the air.” You can hear John’s maternal grandpa laugh a little. “Teresia, how did you know I have been drinking some punch.” What? John finishes what he was doing with his dad. “Nonno Terezi has an advanced form of synesthesia. She can smell the world around her. Also she is completely blind, that’s why she wears those red sunglasses.” You can smell the confusion on all of John’s extended family’s faces. John’s uncle Vincent is the first to ask a question. “How are you blind? I just saw you navigate your way through the house without a cane.” You think your lovely burned iris will convince him. You take off your glasses slowly for dramatic effect. You can hear some of gasps from all around you. “I was blinded during the escape from my home planet. My lusus which is the troll version of a parent had just been born when we were attacked. She was killed by a missile going through her. The bomb then exploded in front of me, and burned my irises.” John’s grandma gives you a comforting hand on the shoulder. “That’s sad. I remember when my mother died in a building collapse, it was very sad.” Now John’s grandma is crying because she remembered her own mother’s death. Did you ruin New Years by mentioning how you were blinded. John’s grandpa Leo takes his wife Juliet inside to console her. The atmosphere that has just been created in suffocating to say the least. Luckily John’s little cousin Vinny brightens the mood by doing something cute. It is indescribable because of how cute it is. Now everything is back to normal. You’re still getting sympathetic glances from John’s aunts though. 

 Your phone’s alarm goes off stating that it’s now the new year. John’s dad gives a kiss to Roxy and lights a bottle rocket. Rose and Kanaya light a couple sparklers next to each other. Lincoln helps his youngest son Jeff light his little tank. Mark the oldest is Snapchating the event. Lucy is shooting roman candles with Maria and Vinny. Issac is on the street doing mortar shells with Sarah. Vincent is firing a couple larger fireworks with Levi. John is next to you lighting your fireworks. “What did you wish for John?” John let’s go of the sparkler he was light and turns towards you. “Not much. I just wished to get past this year without something terrible happening.” That better than yours. You just wanted to be able to continue being loved. You are kind of lonely without John. “I just wanted you to continue loving me like a person. No one has ever dissed me and forced me to look at my flaws like you. You care.” With that being sad you pull his face towards your and kiss him. You hope things are going to be good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nonno means grandpa in Italian.


	33. Captive Emotions

**Joel**

**5:37 pm**

Today is Tuesday, January 6, 2015. You’re staying at your office with your friend William. The both of you have been working on dismantling the Felt Correctional Center for about two months. Today is also the day Lord English gets charged for the abuse, and mistreatment of the trolls in his care. He is being paraded around as a selfish prick in all the papers. His entire private detention system is being destroyed. All of the troll who have already served their original sentences are being released tomorrow. Those who are still serving are being put into government supervised centers. You are currently sharing a bottle of whiskey with William. “Joel,I have to give you my thanks. I couldn’t have done this without you.” He pours the whiskey in your glass. “I didn’t do that much of anything. It was your strategic planning that got us here.” You aren’t being modest about how much work you put into this. You only looked over state legislation, and provided the names for sympathetic politicians. It’s not that much in the whole operation. “Joel I would still have nothing, if you didn’t help me get others to join the cause. That’s how we got evidence. We wouldn’t have gotten the metaphorical smoking gun, if you didn’t get the chairman of Internal Revenue Service.” Maybe he’s right. You knew that one of the chairman in the IRS was pro-equality for trolls and humans alike. It was easy to convince him to join your cause. You just had to show him some reports about the psychical and mental health of the trolls when they leave the facility. “Ok I will admit that I helped a lot more than what I said I did. How am I supposed to know I was the reason we had the big guns.” William gives you a little sideways look sideways look. “Uh huh. Well you did bring in what we needed to have a successful investigation, so I got you this.” He pulls out a envelope from inside his desk. “This envelope contains tickets to an all expense paid trip for your family. You’re going to need the time off before Roxy gives birth. From what you’ve told me, peace and quiet isn’t going to be possible.” A trip would be good for the family before the baby is born. That way the kids can get some relaxation before Jane is born. “Yeah, That would be nice. It’s only a couple more months until Jane comes out.” He looks a little surprised. “You already know the gender of the baby? I thought Roxy wanted to be all mystery baby when it was born.” You start to chuckle at the memory.

“We didn’t want to know, but the doctor who was doing the ultrasound said it might have been one than one. That was the biggest scare that I had in a while. Roxy looked so frightened, while I was visibly nervous. I gave Roxy the most reassuring hug I could muster as we were shock. The doctor then apologized for the mistake when she saw it. I was about to reprimand her on misleading us, but it’s not like she intended on it.” William starts to show a little smile. “Are you sure she wasn’t trying to get ahead on her prankster’s gambit. You have held the position of master prankster for too long. Now you are about to come into possession of a new series of dad jokes. That’s too much power for one man to handle.” You give him a nod. “It is my burden to carry all this pranking power. It is my destiny. My family has been the sole protectors of the prankster’s way. It is said that the oldest living member will hold the master prankster’s seat. When I grow to old to do a container over a door trick, then will give it to the most eligible child.” William refills both of the glasses. “It will be sad when you have to tell John the news about his disinherited position. How will he be able to compete with his own kin mixed with some of Roxy’s lively attitude.” William puts his head down in memory of John’s time as the next prank master. Laugh ensues as the both of you continue acting, like the teenagers you used to be. None of you truly grew up. 

* * *

**Vriska**

**1:24 pm**

Today is Wednesday, January 7, 2015. You have just been released from Felt Correctional Center. Your time in that hellhole is finally over. The officers who got you out center are now checking your rap sheet to see if they can release you. You were only in there for being in a fight at a school. You’re also young, so the charges aren’t that serious. One of the officers walks ,and tells you that you’re free to go. Congratulations your sentence ended two weeks ago. Now you have to go back to the apartment complex you used to live in to grab your old stuff. Why they didn’t have it when you were released is weird. Hopefully you won’t run into anyone that will cause you trouble. Going back into another detention center isn’t on your to do list. You hop on a bus a bus going to the apartments. Management have already rejected your request to move back in. Now you live with the moirail of a indigo blood you met at the Felt Center. The ride over there is dreadful because some jade blood arguing with a olive blood. When you do get into the apartment complex, you go to the front desk. Supposedly all your stuff is still in your room. Time to see the people who hate your guts. You walk into the room to see your old roommate Ramona making out with a strange gold blood. “Hey sheepskin, where’s my shit?” The gold blood jumps off of Ramona’s bed like a scared deer. Ramona looks pissed off. “What the hell do you want spiderbitch! Can’t you see that I’m a little with my matesprite right now!”  You just roll your eyes and walk to your old bed. Looks like Terezi has kept all your stuff in their place. Why does she still cling onto your memory. You dumped her a few months ago, yet she acts like you’ll come back and still be there for her. Karkat’s stupid moves have filled her mind with false hopes. “Well are you going to answer me or not Vriska?” That gold blood is now at the other bed in the room. She must be Terezi’s the new roommate. “I came to get my stuff, and leave for good. I can finally get away from all you lowblood trash.” Ramona gets up and tries to stand against you. Unfortunately she’s shorter than you, so she doesn’t scare you. It’s at this time that Terezi walks into the room. She doesn’t notice you at first. She’s to preoccupied talking to someone on the phone. “No, I don’t know if Kanaya likes classic literature from Edgar Allen Poe. If she wants to know, she should ask her about it herself. How could she be nervous? Have you seen her rant before, it’s like she’s a female Karkat.” She stops paying attention to her phone for second, and smells you. “I’ll have to call back.”

Terezi tosses her phone next to her bed. “What are you doing here Vriska? I thought you were still in Felt Correctional Center for fighting Delvin.” You roll your eyes a second time today. “Felt Corrections has been decommissioned for the mistreating us. They released me for good behavior, so I’m here to collect my stuff.” You grab the duffel bag under your bed and pack your clothes. “Did you find that perfect moirail you were talking about? Were they as great as you said they are. How much better were they!” You don’t say anything. “Well, did you Vriska? Did you find your other half.” Is she trying to rile you up, so she can get her answer. You just continue to ignore her. As you’re about to grab  your lucky dice, you feel her grab your shoulder. She looks you in the eyes. You can see teal tears running down her face. “Please tell me, what I did wrong?” You push her off of you. When she puts her hands on you again is when you get angry. “Terezi stop it! You won’t like what you’ll hear if you continue this!” She digs her nails into your shoulder. “Okay this is what you want. I left you because you were weighing me down. You are just a clingy useless person without any aspirations for yourself. You would tag along with everything I did. I felt like I was suffocating because of you being there. You wouldn’t do anything that was the least bit fun when we hung-out. Why did you think I left you.” Terezi’s face is now covered in teal tears. “I devoted my entire life to you Vriska! Every opportunity I had to get a better life was wasted! You were to unstable, so I had to skip everything! I always had to make sure you didn’t get into trouble when you pulled your shit! I’ve lost friends because of your narcissistic attitude towards others!” Is she trying to blame you for  her being miserable. “I’m pretty sure I made you popular! You were just a nobody when I met you, and look at you now!  People fear you now! No one will dare make you angry! I made people respect your authority, instead of laughing at it! You drove people away yourself ! You drove Karkat away by being yourself! Fucking Karkat! That little unnatural mistake may say he hates something, but he doesn’t mean it! Nobody will ever love you!” Since you had started berating her about her unattractive personality, she’s sat down on her bed. “Thh ..act’s not tt ..rue. Jj..ohn love.ss me.” Does she seriously think he loves her. “Terezi don’t convince yourself that he loves you. He is a nice guy who cares too much about people. He is probably only dating you out of pity because you’re so useless. Just wait until he gets tired of taking care of you. Then he will dump you like the useless crap that you actually are.” Now she’s speaking in incoherent mumbles. You just continue to pack your clothes and personal items. Then you leave to start your new life elsewhere.

* * *

**Terezi**

**5:00 pm**

Why did life have to be such a cruel mistress to you. You had just gotten over Vriska dumping you for a better moirail, when you see her again. You asked her why did she have to leave you. You hadn’t honestly taken the letter she sent seriously at first. You were more sad about her dumping you as her moirail. She had berated you on being a shitty person in your own rite, so you’re crying very heavily right now. Some of the things she has said are true. You did push Karkat away by being yourself. He didn’t like that you were emotionally manipulative to everyone. You would use fear tactics, and personalities to control people. You would play the victim one day, then the oppressor the next. That’s what your blood caste is known for. The legal system on Alternia was more of a kangaroo court. The ones on the bottle were guilty of everything while the ones on top were as innocent as angels. Criminal defense was nonexistent. Investigations were done after the main suspect was killed. Being a jackass is in your blood, yet John doesn’t see you like that. He see the good you can do my using your mind. He is also immune to your manipulative behavior. Anyway back to you crying. You are on your bed with your face in your pillow. Ramona and Fregoi have left the room to go on a date. Good thing they left because you would hate to be seen like this. Crying is a very scandalous activity in troll culture, especially if you’re with your moirail. You can feel the pillow starting to stick to your face from all the mucus on it. It is at that moment you hear your phone ringing. “W..who is t..this?” You can hear an audible gasp from the other side of the line. “Terezi what happened?” It’s John. “Vv..Vriska gg..got out of Ff..Felt Center today. Ss..she came into tt..the room and yy..yelled at me.” How does John always know when you need his help. “Terezi do you need me to come over? I’m just about to get off of work soon.” You do need him to comfort you now. You take a deep breath to compose yourself. “I would like that John. It takes John thirty minutes to arrive at your apartment complex. He has cherry flavored candy, his computer, and a pack of cokes. “I bought enough for a movie session to forget about the person who broke your heart.”

You pull him inside and hope on your messy bed. “Oh can you help me clean up a bit. I had a little breakdown after my fight with Vriska.” You say this as you pick up your overflowing trash bin. The giant mountain of tissues could put Karkat’s depressed romcom girls to shame. The both of you clean up your side of the room, and get onto your bed. He logs onto his Hulu account and the both of you watch Law and Order. You can smell disinfectant on him when he pulls you into a hug. You thought he worked in a office compiling information in the system. Maybe he bumped into a janitor on his way out. You pull your blanket up to cover the both of you. “Woah there Terezi, you almost stabbed me with your horns. That’s the worst way to die.” You look him in his lovely sky blue eyes. They smell like a warm spring day. “How is getting stabbed by my beautiful horns the worst way to die. I think get mauled by a wild animal is the worst way.” John ponders the implication of getting mauled. “Maybe. That does sound like a much worse possible way to die. However I must die in some hilariously heroic way to regain my honor as a master prankster. As you already know I’ll be replaced as the sole heir of my family prankster throne in a few months. My sister will be a worthy advisory to my claim of power. My dad will probably tell me later on to share it because she’s a baby.” The little smirk on John’s face is cute. “I’m pretty sure you will get your wish, but quiet down right now. My show is on.” You snuggle up with John on your bed. You can’t wait until Valentine’s Day to show John how much you appreciate him. Something tells you that this one will be a special one.


	34. Valentine’s Disaster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> John and Rose will now refer to each other as brother and sister because they have been family for a long time already. Jane will be born soon, so they no longer need to address each like strangers.

**Rose**

**3:15 pm**

Today is Friday, February 13, 2015. You are on your way to your dad’s car that your brother John drives. Normally you would refer to them as your stepfamily, but they treat you like flesh and blood so you’re going to do the same. Your parents have been married for nine years already. Anyway your half-sister is going to be born in a few a month or two, so yeah family. You see your girlfriend Kanaya talking to your brother Dave at the main exit. How you wish your family wasn’t so weird. They stopped conversing with Kanaya noticed you walking towards them. “What’s up sis?” Dave is still pretending to be the neutral cool kid that he thinks he is. “Not much my brother from another mother. I was just on my way to join John, so I can go home today.” Dave puts her hand on her chest and says, “Wow Rose that hurts me. I think I have a broken heart now. Did you have to break your poor older brother’s heart like that.” Always the overdramatic one. Kanaya’s beautifully painted lips show the beginning formation of a small smile. “I am quite amused by the antics the both of you participate in. Always joking around without actually hurting the other person. I wish I could share such a wonderful bond with someone.” Is she flirting with you right now. “That someone could be the one who has captured my heart. A sweet and blissful bond of love and trust. Don’t you agree Rosalyn.” Okay she is definitely flirting with you right now. “I do agree Kanaya. The bond I share with Dave may have love and trust, but I require a much more romantic bond. A lady can table so much tomfoolery before she goes off the deep end.” You see Kanaya’s cheeks light up with that dark green hue you love. Oh how she drives you wild with just a simple blushing smile. The mental image of her fang like teeth piercing the soft skin on your neck excites you. You are in an trances like state ,until Dave taps your shoulder. “Hey Rose, you might want to lessen the daydreaming of you and Kanaya doing whatever you were thinking about. She left as soon as you agreed with her.” Well that’s embarrassing to say the least. You are lucky she left before, she noticed you daydreaming. From firsthand accounts by your friends, you tend to have a dopey like face when you daydream. “Well thanks for snapping me out of my predicament. You shall be rewarded with ten of the most judgement free therapy sessions. We can finally get to the root cause of you relationship troubles.” Dave takes off his cool guy shades to roll his eyes at you. “Rose I love you and all, but could you stop trying to psychoanalyze me. You aren’t going to find the holy grail of psychology chilling in my subconscious. I already know that most of my metaphors allude to me being super gay, so can you stop it. I’m no longer where my glasses, so you know I’m serious.” Dave seems to have gotten tired of you revealing the inner machinations of his personality. You guess you would too, if someone kept annoying you. “Well I can at least say that I tried to enter your mind. So how was your day Dave?” He puts his glasses back on. “Not much better than any other day in the week. It has been pretty monotone, until my half sister’s girlfriend started a game of fifty questions with me.” What kind of questions did Kanaya ask Dave? “What did she ask for?” Dave crosses his arms to his chest. “I can’t legally tell you because of the bro code. Code 72 Thou shall not tell ones sister about their significant other’s requests. It’s right next to the code about denying the existence of an ex-bro.” You give Dave a stare of pure malicious intent. You decide blink to add more malice in your stare. Dave takes this chance to run away. Now you are left standing by yourself in the middle of the crowd school hallway. Better to just continue on with your original plan.

You go outside to the parking lot. You can see your dad’s white Subaru in next to the handicapped parking space. However, John isn’t the one standing next to the car, instead it’s his girlfriend/matesprite Terezi. You don’t know which one they prefer to be known as. “Terezi, do you know where my brother John is? He was supposed to meet me here after school.” Terezi stops leaning on the car to speak to you. “I wish I knew where he was. I was going to wait for him here, so I could give him back his jacket.” You do notice that she is wearing one of John’s jackets. It’s a little big on her shorter body. You were about to go search for John, but you see him walking over with Jade. They’re also talking about something but quickly shut up when they notice you. What is it with people talking about secretive topics today. Jade approaches you first. “Rose I was looking for you earlier. I need to tell you something that’s very important.” What could be so important that Jade would need to tell you. Does it have to do with that fight she had with Dave at the Christmas party. You’v been wondering what it could have been. Those two almost never get into fights, but when they do they quickly get over it. That fight looks to have left some damage because Jade seems to have gained a belly. Are you an ass for noticing that when she came into view. Probably. “You can tell me about it later on. Remember we’re going on a group date tomorrow. It’s that Italian restaurant called Venice Kitchen.” Terezi is talking with John behind you about tomorrow. Jade agrees with your suggestion. It’s not like it can be anything serious if Jade is willing to wait. You, Terezi, and John get into the car and go on your way home. 

* * *

**John**

**5:20 pm**

Today is Saturday, February 14, 2015 . Which is also Valentine’s Day. You are getting dressed to go on a date with your girlfriend Terezi Pyrope. You’ll also be accompanied by your your sister Rose, your friend Jade, and their dates. The restaurant everyone agreed on is Venice Kitchen, which happens to be the same place you took Terezi to when you broke up. It’s not like the two of you will break up again because you went to a specific restaurant. That’s  just being crazy talk. You put on a light blue suit with a black dress shirt under the coat. Then you grab the finishing touch, a teal handkerchief for the breast pocket. You might as well follow the troll tradition of wearing you quadmates color. This is one of your favorite outfits that you own. You it from your grandma shop last month. Now you look good, but you should probably ask someone else’s for their opinion. You go down stairs to find your stepmom and dad sitting in the kitchen. “Hey do I look good?” Roxy turns around to give you a quick look. “You look absolutely handsome, just like your father right here. I’m pretty sure Terezi will like your outfit. Remember to have fun, but not to much if you catch my drift.” You know what she means. Unfortunately, there will be a revealing of the action she’s talking about later on. Why Jade didn’t tell Rose yesterday is beyond you. Your dad comes out of the laundry room with a can of tomato sauce. Looks like their romantic dinner is coming along great. Rose comes downstairs in a black cocktail dress and heels. “Are you almost ready John? We still have to pick up the others from their homes.” You’re actually only picking up the trolls from the apartment complex. Jade’s grandfather is actually dropping her off. “Yeah I’m almost ready, I just have to grab the gifts I got.” Rose’s eyes widen. “Fuck!” She bolts into her room to grab her gifts for Kanaya. Your parents are shocked that Rose just cursed in front of them. It doesn’t surprise you because you would do the same if you almost forgot the gifts too. You walk outside and get into the car. Rose comes outs with two green bags in hand. She puts the bags in the trunk next to your gifts. You start the car and drive to the troll apartment. It’s a while until you get there, so you start to listen to the radio. Aww such calming music. To bad Rose looks like she’s having a mini panic attack. “Rose why are you so stressed out? We’re just going on a date with our girlfriends on Valentine’s Day.” Rose regulates her breathing. “John please remember that I never went on a group date. I barely managed to get past my first few dates successfully. I’m not you.” What does she mean by that. “Rose just because I have been on multiple dates with multiple girls doesn’t mean anything. I’m also nervous about this date. Terezi is a smart, beautiful, and very caring girl. I worry that one day she’ll get over me and leave.” Rose gives the biggest sigh you’v heard in awhile. “John I hate to break it to you, but I doubt Terezi will ever grow tired of you. She’s really dependent on you.” “Rose, she just broke up with her asshole of a moirail. It was extremely toxic for her, so she needs someone to love her for who she is.” Rose looks out of the window. “Then why aren’t you her moirail then. Being her matesprite doesn’t mean you have to take care of her.” You get a little angry. “All her friends have ignored her her when she needed help because of some quadrant rules! She needs some who will be there for her, and not turn their back on her!” Rose shifts around in her chair “I see you really care for her John. Hopefully she cares the same way you do. Also I’m sorry for insulting your girlfriend.” You calm down and continue driving to the troll district where they live. 

You arrive to see Terezi, Kanaya, and Tavros on the side of the building. How long have they been waiting since you’re early for them. Forget it that isn’t important to know. You park the car and go to greet Terezi with a hug. The hug turns into a kiss. In the background  you think you can see Karkat rolling his eyes. “I got something for you Terezi.” You go to the trunk with Rose and grab the gifts for your dates. Terezi and Kanaya also have bags with them. Terezi immediately runs towards you to give you her gift. “I got you this to show you how much you mean to me. You have been there for me since the beginning of school.” She pulls out a black box from her bag and hands it to you. You find a silver Rolex with your name engraved on it. You give Terezi a hug and whisper, “I love it, but I love you more.” Terezi’s cheeks start to glow with teal. You grab the gift that you got her. You pull out a necklace with a teal libra symbol surrounded by dragons. You also had it it engraved with the words. ‘Fly high like the dragon you are.’ Terezi tackles you to the car and kisses you like crazy. She only stops to speak. “I don’t know what to say John, no one has ever gotten me a gift this special.” You wrap your arms around Terezi and say, “Well they never saw how special you really are.” The others are watching all this unfold. You think Rose is taking notes in the back. It’s now awkward. You gently push Terezi away, and help her put on her necklace. You see Kanaya now has a designer scarf and a necklace on. Rose has a handmade dress and a pair of silver earrings. Tavros is still holding his bag, so he can see Jade at the restaurant. You go to the front seat with Terezi on the passenger side. Everyone else goes to sit in the back. The trip to the restaurant is filled with more music from the stereo. It’s unfortunate, that you miraculously forgot about Dave’s mixtape in the central console. Truly unfortunate. You see Jade waiting outside the restaurant for you all. You help Tavros get out out of the seat and adjust his wheelchair. Jade looks more lively than she did yesterday. You guess is truly in the air tonight. Tavros gives Jade her gift of a pair of earrings and a box of chocolates. Jade gives him a kiss on his cheek and hands him a book. Tavros really likes the book for some reason. Time to enjoy a romantic dinner with your close friends and beautiful troll girlfriend.

* * *

**Terezi**

**8:15 pm**

You are currently at Venice Kitchen with your friends and Human matesprite John Egbert. You didn’t want to come here at because it brings back bad memories. You were in pain and John tried to help you, but you push him away. The restaurant looks the as that day a few months ago. The same hostess that seated you all those months ago seats you again. The only differences now is that you came here with friends, and their are a lot more couples than before. However you aren’t sad that you’re here. Earlier when John was pick everyone else up, the both of you exchanged gifts. You gave him a watch with his name engraved on the bottom. It was surprisingly cheap. All you had to do was search for a store that has them on sale, and wait until it was near closing time. They why they would accept a lower price to get a sale before the day ended. Then you took it to a different watch shop to get it engraved. It was the perfect gift to show your appreciation. When he came to pick you up you gave it to him immediately. He loved it. Afterwards he gave you a necklace. It had your symbol in your blood color with dragons on the side. You practically jumped on him when he gave it to you. That is what has happened earlier. Now you’re ordering your food. You’re siting in between Jade and Kanaya in the table. John is sitting in front of you looking at his menu. “Oh the beef bruschetta sounds pretty good. It might be better than the pork bruschetta we had last time.” You pick up your own menu and show him what you want. “I am a woman of pure class, John. I’m having the risotto with extra onions. As a nobleman green man once said “Ogres are like onions. Onions have layers, therefore I have layers.” Jade tries to stifle a laugh. “I pretty sure Shrek didn’t say that. He is more poetic than that.” You totally agree with her. You give Jade a thumbs up to show that you agree with her. She does the same. The two of you share a little smile by joking around. You were about to crack another joke, until you see a waiter coming to take your order. The sequence of orders is Jade, you, Kanaya, Rose, John, and Tavros. “I’ll have a water and Chicken Alfredo.” “I’m having a coke the risotto with extra onions.” “I shall request a tea with carbonara.” “I’ll have the same as her.” “I would like a tea the beef bruschetta.” “I’ll have a water with the uhh oven toasted calzone.” The waiter finishes scribbling down all the orders, and goes on his merry way to the kitchen. He said it would be about a fifteen minute wait for your food. 

The waiter did came back out after three minutes to serve everyone their drinks. He does get it mixed up at the end. It is then that Tavros decides to speak with Jade about something. “Jade how check earlier turn out. Are you all good, or are there some complications.” They seem to be hiding something with how they’re speaking. “The check up perfectly. I’m completely healthy in everything.” Jade seems to be side eyeing Rose during her whole conversation. They continue talking about a doctor that Jade has to see in a couple weeks. Both Rose and Kanaya play with the articles of clothing that they have received from the other. John is admiring the watch you got him. This continues on until the waiter eventually comes with the food. The risotto looks and smells great. The chiefs here know how to cook their food. Everyone digs in. Afterwards you take a nice refreshing sip from your cup of coke-cola. It’s odd that you like the original flavor, instead of the cherry flavor. Maybe they tried to hard to make the cherry soda the best one. It lacks that taste that lets you know what you’re drinking. It is at that moment that you notice something is wrong. You look up to smell John looking at you with seriously malicious intent. Did you do something wrong? “Are you ok John? You smell a little unstable right now.” Jade is the next to question him. “Did something happen? I was kind of spacing out, so I didn’t hear anything.” Rose lifts her finger and points to one of the tables. You turn around to smell Vriska at one of the tables with a group of midbloods. They look to be harassing the table next to them. Jade sees her and comments. “I can’t believe she’s here. It’s like she follows you to just torment you. She’s a bigger stalker than Emily is.” Rose pipes up with. “Yeah, at least she tries to hide herself, instead of being the center of attention. She’s a serious narcissist, but at least she isn’t pretending to be pregnant. Only bimbos get pregnant when they’re teenagers.” Jade seems to deflate at that last line. “Rose remember when I said I had something to tell you.” Rose grabs her drink. “Yeah I remember. I was going to ask you about it, before we spotted Vriska over there.” Jade tries to sink into her chair. “I’m about 15 weeks pregnant right now. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier.” What does being pregnant mean? It must be something serious because Rose spits out her drink when she hears it. The backwash lands on both you and Jade.

Rose puts her cup on the table with some force. “You’re what!” Jade is quivering next to you. “I’m pregnant and it’s 15 weeks along.” Rose cycles her gaze from both Jade and Tavros. “How did you? When did you? Uhh!” Jade says, “We haven’t done it yet. The father is some guy from a college Halloween party.” Rose looks to be having a mental episode. “How could you be so reckless? You’re always telling us to do every safety measure available, and you can’t even do it yourself!” Jade jumps up and knocks both of your drinks onto you. “Oh I’m sorry I couldn’t have been the perfect little princess you want me to be. You’re now soaked and a little sticky from your soda. John gives you his napkin to dry yourself. “Thanks John. I'm going to go hangout outside, so I don’t get anymore soaked.” John helps Kanaya and Tavros keep their dates from each other. You wouldn’t want them to start fighting. “Okay, let me just calm them down and pay. I’ll meet you outside in a bit.” You leave the restaurant and go to the car. John should have a jacket in the truck. “Hey Terezi.” It looks like you aren’t alone. “Look at me you crippled idiot.” Vriska has decided to grace you with her presence. The thing is, she isn’t alone. You see three of the seven midbloods that were with Vriska earlier. “What do you want Vriska? Can’t you see that I have enough shit on my plate. I don’t need you piling on it.” Some of the trolls behind her start laughing. “She’s calling you out Vrisk. You better show her that no one messes with you.” They sound so comedic when they say that. You might as well as embarrass her in front of the lackeys. “Have you really lost your bite Vriska! Was being in Felt Corrections the turning point in your life!” Vriska swings for you. You manage to duck below her fist. “Come Rezi fight me if you think you’re tough! I will show you my bite!” The rest of her entourage come outside the restaurant and surround the both of you. Vriska starts swinging hard, but you were always more nimble than her. Every punch she throws, you dodge and hit her side. She does get some hits in but not that much. You might win this fight in you continue dodging her, but it’s Vriska. She’s going to cheat her little ass off. One of the goons grab you from behind and holds you like a punching bag. You get beaten by Vriska. Where the hell are the others? It’s been quite a while since you left the restaurant. Vriska kicks you in the stomach. There goes your romantic dinner. “Now stay on the ground like the filth you are.” Her goons start laughing at you bleeding on the the floor. How did your life become this. All you hear is their high pitched laughter. Then you hear some tapping. You think you hear someone running in the distance. “Hey bitch.” You hear Vriska go flying after a loud slapping noise. “Jade get Terezi.” Is that John. Vriska yells, “Mind your own goddam business John!” Yeah it’s your matesprite John coming to save you. You can’t smell anything, so you’re totally blind right now. All you can hear is grunting and impact noises. Jade is trying to help you up, but you can’t stand. Vriska must have busted your leg when you were getting beaten. You can hear both Rose’s and Kanaya’s voices in the fight. “Rose, I didn’t know you were a black belt in karate.” “Yeah my stepdad wanted me and John to know how to defend ourselves.” They must be kicking ass because you don’t hear them getting hit. “Yeah hello, I would like to the police. My friends has just been beaten up by a gang. Yeah I also need the paramedics here also. No my other friends are fighting them off. No, I’m actually 15 weeks pregnant. Oh okay.” Is Jade on the phone. Whatever you have more important things to worry about. Such as trying to find out where John is. He seems to be fighting some of Vriska’s goons in front of Rose and Kanaya. The sound of police sirens going off in the distance scare off some of them. You hear a bloodcurdling screams come from Jade. “Tavros watch out.” A pained grunt and the sound of a bone being cracked comes from whoever is standing next to you. “Oh god.” It’s John. Why did he say oh god. You hear another scream coming from Rose. “Oh my god John. Don’t move.” The sound of his body hitting the pavement echoes in your ears. You scramble over to get to John, and check on him. Your hands search his body and feel something sticking out. It’s also wet and getting even more wet as the seconds go by. Did John get stabbed trying to protect you. “Terezi don’t touch that. Uhh. I’m bleeding out right now aren’t I.” Is that what is happening right now. “Yeah you’re bleeding pretty bad.” He moves his hand to cup your face. “Well I guess I’m dying. I didn’t think it would end like this.” You wrap your hands around his bloody hand. “I’m pretty sure nobody plans to get stabbed as their cause of death. It just happens.” Tears are pouring down your face. “Well you know me Terezi, I don’t plan on going out in a conventional style. I just wanted to say that I.. Uhh” Blood is starting to come out of his mouth. “Please don’t tell me you’re confessing your love for me with your dying words.” He coughs again but continues on with what he was saying. “I lo..” he has stopped talking. You scream and hold his onto his body. The police and paramedics arrive. The police immediately begin their work while the paramedics pull you apart. They put John in one of the trucks going straight to the hospital. You’re loaded onto the next one to correct your injuries. They gas you with something and you pass out.


	35. Early Morning Hysteria

  **Joel**

**1:27 am**

Today is Sunday, February 15, 2015. You are currently laying in bed with your wife Roxy. Just a few hours ago, the both of you shared a romantic valentines dinner. You had cooked up some steaks, and lit up a few candles. It was almost like the first date that the both of you went on. It was perfect. Afterwards, the two of you shared some alone time since the kids were still out. They went out as a group, so it wasn’t like they were by themselves. It calmed you. You hadn’t expected anything bad to happen today anyway. All that changed when you got a phone call at one in the morning. You awoke to the sound of your phone going off on your nightstand. You successfully ignored it the first two times. The third time Roxy asked you to silence it. You checked to see how could be calling you at a time like this. It was your daughter Rose. Why is calling you? “What do you need Rose? I’m in bed right now.” You’re a little agitated that she’s calling at this time, but when you hear her start crying on the other side your anger turns into worry. You quickly jump out of bed. “Rose, did something happen? Are you ok?” Roxy gets out of bed to see what’s happening. “Joel, what’s happening?” Rose continues to cry on the line. What the hell is happening right now? You hear the phone get passed to someone else. Now it’s Kanaya talking. “Hello Mr. Egbert. It me Kanaya Maryam right now because Rose is a little occupied at the moment. We’re at Maple Valley Regional Hospital.” Why are they at a hospital for Christ sake. “Kanaya could you please tell me what happened.” You are getting dressed as quick as you can. Roxy does the same. “We were at Venice Kitchen, when Terezi got attacked by her ex-moirail. She had a group with her. We went to go save her and ended up getting injured. Both me and Rose got stitches because we got cut a bit. Terezi is relatively alright, but John is currently in surgery.” At the mention of surgery, you almost break the door knob to your room. “We’re on our way right now” Both you and Roxy run outside to her car. “What did Kanaya tell? What happened to the kids, Joel?” You start up the car and start driving to the hospital. “The kids got attacked outside of the restaurant by Terezi’s old moirail and her new friends. Rose is getting stitches because they had knifes.” You start crying behind the wheel. “They stabbed John.” Roxy’s eyes begin bulging outwards at the news.

You arrive at the hospital to see cops outside. One of the officer in the front approaches you, but quickly retreats when they see Roxy behind you. Did he assume Roxy is ready to give birth. You will admit she does look ready to pop. Why are you thinking about your wife who isn’t ready to give birth, you have more important things right now! Your son needs you! The nurse at the front desk looks to be checking something on the computer. “Hello sir, is your wife ready for her delivery? We have the room ready for you.” Roxy zips up her coat. “She still has a month left, and we’re here for our kids.” She looks a little embarrassed. “Uhh what are their names?” “John Egbert and Rose Lalonde. They arrived here a few hours ago.” She searches up the names in the hospital’s database. You know she found them when her face grimaces. “Your daughter Rose is in room 223 being questioned by the police, and your son John is in surgery.” You and Roxy go to the elevators and hit the button for the second floor. You find Rose’s room easily enough. She’s sitting on one of the many beds in the room. She looks scared out of her mind. Roxy runs to her. “Rosy are you ok? Who hurt you?” She starts her personal game of twenty questions with Rose. Kanaya and Jade are on the beds behind you. “Are you her father?” The detective that was questioning the girls comes to you. “Yes, I’m here stepfather. Do you know what happened?” You already know what Kanaya told told you, but you need case info “Sir, your daughter’s friend Terezi Pyrope was the victim of a gang attack. We now it was Terezi’s former moirail Vriska Serket who ordered the attack. It happened in the parking lot of Venice Kitchen. Your daughter and her friends fought the attacker, but her friend John Egbert who is the boyfriend of Terezi was stabbed by one of the attackers. We have the all attacker in custody, except Vriska Serket.” So that’s what happened. “John is actually her brother. I’m his biological father.” The detective writes what you said in his notepad. “I have some questions for you if you have the time.” You agree to the questions. “Ok, do you why Vriska might have attacked Terezi?” You cross your arms. “I know that they had a fight last month at the apartment apartment complex at 1768 Fir lane. She had verbally attacked Terezi upon her return from Felt Corrections.” He writes that down. “How long has your son been dating Terezi?” “They’ve been dating for about five months. It’s technically seven, but they were kismesises before.” He stops halfway through the notes. “Did you say that they were kismesises before?” You nod. “Uhh okay. Well I have all I need, if you can remember anything else please call me.” He gives you his card. It say Detective Walter King, Maple Valley Police Department. You see him leave with his partner. Jade’s grandfather Jacob runs through the door looking for her. He spots her talking with a nurse about something. Was she also in the fight? Never mind. You go sit with Rose and Roxy while you wait for news about John. 

* * *

**Jacob**

**2:47 am**

The smell of hospital disinfectant brings back memories of happier days. The days of when you still had a average sized family everyday. No matter how many showers Alice took, the scent of rubbing alcohol would always stick. It became something you would always look forward too. Now you’re scared to smell it. You are at Maple Valley Regional Hospital because Jade was involved in a gang attack. It happened yesterday, when she went on a group date with her friends to Venice Kitchen. You thought nothing could go wrong since she had a group. Joel told you what he heard from the police. It was only John, Terezi, Kanaya, and Rose who were involved in the fight. Both Jade and Tavros pulled Terezi off the ground. They weren’t actually in the fight, but they were almost attacked by one of the the armed assailants. John got in front of them and took a knife to the torso. He managed to break the arm of the troll responsible, but fell due to getting stabbed in the chest. The knife punctured his left lung. Terezi got beaten pretty badly. She has a few broken ribs, a broken nose, a broken leg, and multiple bruises on her all over her body. Rose and Kanaya got a few cuts on their faces. The weren’t too deep, but they still needed stitches. That’s lucky. Tavros went to the vending machine in the hall to grab some drinks, while Jade is just getting checked on because she’s pregnant. The next sonogram appointment is in a few days. You’ll probably find out what gender the baby is, you’re praying that it’s a boy. You may have made Jade a little to much like a tomboy. Alice was great with with Joey, while Jude was great with you. The knowledge required to raise a girl is something you don’t have. Ugh, your still tired despite drinking black coffee. Your body was not meant to be up at one in the morning with only three hours of sleep. A nurse walks towards you with a clipboard. “Ms. Harley your ok to leave. The baby is perfectly healthy, but we advise that you stay out of stressful activities. The stress can cause a miscarriage if you aren’t careful. You also need to take some folic acid. I’ll go get you a prescription.” Oh that’s good. The nurse turns and walks into the the nurse desk. Joel is standing in shock from what just happened. “Umm, congratulations Jade.” You were hoping to keep it a secret for a little while longer. Jade  just sits in her bed. “Thanks Joel. I was worried that you would be mad because of reasons.” Joel pinches the piece of skin in between his nose and forehead. “Jade you’re your own person and old enough to make your own choices. I won’t tell you how to live your life in any way. Anyway it’s not like you’re trying to pawn the kid off as someone else’s.” At that moment Tavros comes rolling in with four cans of 7up.  “Oh hi Mr. Egbert. Do you want this extra soda? The machine gave it to for free, but I don’t need it.” Joel takes the soda but doesn’t drink it, instead he look Tavros over. Tavros gets nervous that he’s getting inspected by John’s dad. Jade grabs her can and says, “Tavros, he knows.” Tavros calms down. “Oh you know about Jade’s little situation.” Joel smirks at Tavros’ comment. “It may be little now, but it will be bigger later on. Trust me, it’s hard the first few months but totally worth it in the end.” Joel pats Tavros on the back in a very understanding manner. Tavros cheerful says, “Is that how it feels to be a stepdad? It’s hard in the beginning then it’s worth it at the end.” Joel puts his gaze on Jade. “It was a one night stand on Halloween. I got incredibly drunk from the spiked punch they were serving. I don’t even remember the guy.” Jade pulls the cover over herself. Joel has a very tired smile on his face. “Like I said, your old enough to make your own choices. If this is what you want, then so be it. Just make sure you don’t abuse the kindness of those around you.” He turns around to go back to his family, but turns at the last second. “Oh yeah, I almost forgot to say this. The doctor says John is going to be ok. The surgery was successful.” That brings a smile to your face. John is a good young man, who deserves to live. You’re not just saying that because he basically acted as a body-shield for Jade and the others. 

* * *

**Dave**

**7:50 am**

Long showers is a form of relief for your family. Just letting the hot water kiss your skin and remove all the stress you have pent up. Then you contemplate what the hell happened during the whole hour. You just stand there reflecting on your life. What have you done in your life, that shows great achievement. Is life screwing with you, or is it trying to lead you somewhere. That is what you think about in the shower, right? Or is it your bitter mood. You know, just another February 15 without someone to hold in your arms. Not many guys are willing to come out of the safe closet. Too many bible humping lunatics outside chanting the Old Testament like it’s a common saying. It’s honestly crazy. They will cuss out anyone who isn’t like them, but protect the ones who are with them that do the sin they’re against. It’s like the priest touching the kids are better than the doctor who prays to another god. That is why both you and your brother are atheists. You don’t want some guy sitting in the clouds judging you for doing something that makes you happy. It’s not like you are hurting anyone by being yourself. Unless you count the Bible humpers that you roast with your sick rhymes. They fall apart when you spouting out the same verses they say in you own. ‘Thou shall not lay with another man, well I ain’t laying down. I’m the top.’ They either have their little anxiety attacks or pass out. Some of them are super annoying, while some are great people. Like John. He’s catholic, but he isn’t an ass about it. You remember that time he helped you tell someone off. Some girl at a park had said all homosexuals go to hell. You were about to roast her when John said, “Have you ever considered that guys are becoming gay, after meeting you.” You and her were both stunned speechless. Then you gave him a bro fist right then and there. Aww good memories.

You get out of the shower and join your brother for breakfast. He is in charge of cooking for this household because he’s the oldest guy. You’re pretty much the carefree trophy wife in the house. And that’s ok. You always knew that you would be the pampered person in a house. Sike! You help pay some of the bill with the ad revenue. Your brother didn’t raise a asshole under his roof. It looks like it’s hash browns and sausages today . The background noise from the living room T.V. fills the room. It’s currently playing the channel five news. For some reason, Dirk likes to watch the weather report. You think he does it for ironic purposes because he doesn’t listen to the tips. You saw him go outside without an umbrella, despite the meteorologist saying it was going to rain all day. Saying your brother is weird would an understatement. How that’s the price of being ironically cool. Let’s see what major propose some guy did for his girlfriend yesterday. “We’re at Venice Kitchen where a grisly gang attack had occurred. Reports say the notorious troll gang known as ‘The Alternians’ is responsible. One of the members have of the gang has died due to police intervention. Only four people have been injured with one in critical condition. The police haven’t released the names of the victims.” Isn’t that the place where Rose said they were going? It is. You run into your room, and quickly select Rose’s name on your contact list. She will know what happened. Your brother runs into the room. “Dave what happened?” You put you phone to your ear. Your brother starts getting worried. “The news said there was a gang attack at the restaurant John and Rose went to! They said someone is in critical condition!” Your brother goes to his own room to probably call John’s dad. The call goes to voicemail. You try again to no avail. Why isn’t Rose answering her phone? Can’t she feel the overly protective brother aura you’re giving out. Maybe your brother has Joel on the line. You find your brother on his phone in the living room. “Ok, we’re coming over right now.” He see you standing in the hallway. “Dave your friend John got stabbed in the chest yesterday night. Joel says he’s ok but his has some serious internal bleeding. Rose just got a few cuts, but overall she’s ok.” That’s all you need to know. The both of you grab your jackets and head to the hospital. 


	36. Hospital Crisis

**Terezi**

**10:00 am**

Today is Thursday, February 19, 2015. It’s been about five days since the attack at Venice Kitchen. You’ve also spent that many days in the hospital recovering from your injuries. You arrived at the hospital with a fractured right tibia, a sprained left ankle, four cracked ribs, a fractured right radius, afractured nose, and multiple lacerations and abrasions all over your body. You’re practically encased in multiple casts everywhere and temporarily bound to a wheelchair because of that night. Despite all that, you’re still one of the luckier one. John was stabbed in the chest by one of Vriska’s goons. He sacrificed himself when he saw one of them run towards you and Jade. The knife punctured his left lung. He was only able to break the guy’s arm, because of the sheer amount of adrenaline pumping in him. It all ended when he saw the knife poking out of him. He fell backwards on the concrete parking lot hard. That caused him to also get a concussion. The paramedics got there quickly, so he was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery. Rose has told you that the surgery was alright, but he still has internal bleeding. He was alright for a few hours afterwards, however that didn’t last long. He had gotten Pneumothorax, which is a collapsed lung. Now he’s in a medically induced coma to avoid any further damage on his respiratory system. You haven’t seen him since that horrific night. Rose is the one telling you about what’s happening with John. Rose, her mother, Jade, and Tavros have visited you everyday that you’ve spent here. John’s dad has visit once, but he prefers to stay in John’s room. You can’t say you blame him, you would do the same. He has already lost John’s birth mom and kids. John is the only kid he has left for however long it is until Jane comes out. Kanaya and Karkat have visited you a total of two times. They’re busy with their work schedules and trying to stop the apartment management from evicting you. Management is a group of money-hungry assholes. They won’t get paid as nearly as much as they did before because you’re in the hospital. They also have to give information all their about Vriska, or receive a hefty fine for not reporting her sooner. Supposedly, they have kept incidents involving Vriska a secret. Just because they wanted to get paid more for having a safe living area. Ugh, the pain medication that they’re giving you here is making you very drowsy. You originally wanted to stay up, so you could talk to whoever came in. But no, the morphine is too strong for that to happen. Why is it there? Its there to help alleviate the agonizing pain you get from moving around. It hurts like a motherfucker when you touch the side railing. You know what, a quick nap won’t hurt anyone.

Six hours later

The familiar scent of sour apple shampoo fills the air around you. It would seem that Karkat has entered your room. “Dammit Kanaya, she said she was going to be awake today. No I won’t be quiet. Today is my day off from McDonald’s, and the least that I expect from here is a welcome. Why would I need him in here?” You aren’t even awake, yet somehow you’ve already triggered Karkat. You open your eyes and smell the rest of your room. “Awwww, hey Karkat. I wasn’t expecting you to come visit me today.” Karkat turns off his phone. “Yeah well, I’m here now aren’t I.” Why does he have to be an insufferable prick about everything. “I don’t know? Are you here at this moment. I can’t tell because I have been blind for the majority of my life.” Well two people can play that game. Karkat scowls at you. “Terezi, I don’t feel like dealing with your shit today. I have enough of my own shit to start an all natural fertilizer plant. I’ll be the Luther Burbank of edible shit for plants.” He has been spending way too much time with Dave. “Well to bad Karkat, you’ve stepped in my room. The sheer amount of shit I have to go through is astronomical. My ex-moirail beat the crap out of me, I’m temporarily handicapped, and my matesprite is was stabbed for helping me.” Tears start pouring out of eyes. “He’s the only person who hasn’t left me yet! He was willing to sacrifice himself for my safety! He truly loved me.” Karkat just stands there, idling next to your bed. “Uhh, it will be ok. I’m sure John will be alright in a few days. He isn’t a giant pushover like some people say he is.” The teal tears continue to pour out of your eyes. “I already know that he’s strong Karkat. Everyone tells me that exact phrase when I ask if he’s ok. I just want to know how he is.” Karkat let’s out a huge sigh and sits on your bed. “Did I ever tell you why I stopped being your matesprite?” You shake your head no. “Well, when we were younger you were the most unstoppable girl in our group. I wanted you to be my matesprite at that moment. It was wonderful in the beginning, but after some time I saw the truth. It was all an act to impress Vriska. You were mean to all the other wrigglers in school. I thought I could change you! That backfired horribly. You weren’t willing to let yourself be you, so I dumped you. I couldn’t pity a replica of Vriska, like you wanted me to.” You hear him pull something out of his sweet cherry school bag. Your nose is still a little broken, so your sense of smell isn’t that great. You can only smell things that are bright and colorful. “Here, Rose told me to give this to you. I don’t know what’s inside of it, but John wanted you to have it. I’ll leave you be.” Karkat walks out like nothing memorable happened whatsoever. He just explained why your past matespriteship ended, and gave you a box from your boyfriend who is currently unconscious. You open the box to find a letter and carton of Crayola chalk. You grab the letter first. It’s written in the blue ink from the pen you got for him. It’s candy scented. The letter says.

Dear Terezi,

I know that this is to many gifts for one person. It makes me look a little clingy, but this shows how much you mean to me. You’re the only girl that I’ve dated, that hasn’t tried to extort me for money. You actually care about me instead of what I’m worth. Even if you constantly want to go to McDonald’s for all the dipping sauce. That alright. That’s what makes you special in your own unique way. That is why I believe you should stop trying to reconnect with Vriska. That moirailegiance was a toxic mess that was destroying your true self you. She made you dependent on her then she left you. That isn’t what moirails do to each other. You’re a strong, beautiful, and intelligent person that doesn’t need her. I love that about you. You have the cutest face when you get determined by something. I’d hate to see it get ruined by Vriska selfishness. I’m getting a little sidetracked. I ask that you listen to my request and cut ties with Vriska. If she tries to break your break your heart again, I’ll punch some sense into her. My dad has always told me to never hit a woman, unless they were ruining your life. You’re my girlfriend and I care about you. You know what, we’ve never talked about what we are. Are we matesprites or are we boyfriend/girlfriend. There’s always a third option of being a mix. We love each other but still be with other people. No that’s a open relationship. I want to be your matesprite or whatever you choose.

Love John

You begin to cry heavier than you did before. John wrote you a love/advice letter before that night. You clutch the letter in your embrace. You going to take his advice and get rid of everything that reminds you of Vriska as soon as you get out. At that moment a nurse walks in with a cart to replace your morphine drip. 

Two days later

You look at the black digital clock next to the T.V. in your room. The clock says it’s 3:46 pm right now. It’s almost time for you to get ready. You’re finally going to visit John in his room. The doctors have said your injuries are stable enough for you to be moving around. One of the nurses is going to push you in the wheelchair that on the side of your bed. You’re absolutely excited to see him, even if he is still unconscious. It’s the thought that counts. He should be waking up in a few days, from what Rose has told you. The internal bleeding in his lungs should over by now. You put on a hospital gown that covers all sides and the bright yellow socks the hospital gave you. They mean something, but you don’t know what. The nurse in charge of your room helps you into your wheelchair and takes you to John’s room. The room is gigantic compared to your room. You see everyone else in the room when you enter. Both John’s dad and stepmom are standing next to the window overlooking the garden beneath. Rose is talking to Kanaya on the chairs across from John. Tavros, Jade, and Dave are in the corner talking about something important. Maybe it has to do with Jade saying she was pregnant on Valentines. Rose practically threw a fit upon hearing it. The nurse parks you next to Rose and Kanaya, then leaves to do something. “Heya Rose, hows school life treating you?” Kanaya stops talking to Rose so to motion towards you. “Oh I didn’t see you there Terezi. I thought you were Jade for a second. School has been pretty normal if you don’t count the people saying that you died.” Why would people say that you died. You give Rose a inquisitive look. “Someone found out that we were the ones who got attacked at Venice Kitchen. It was all over the news because of my dad’s reputation as a politician. You’re name has been released to the media as the main victim, while the rest of us are bystanders who helped you.” So the entire state probably knows about you getting attacked by Vriska and her lackeys. It’s not that bad. “Did you guys manage to get me excuses for school and my job? I don’t want to have to explain why I wasn’t anywhere for the past week.” Rose looks at you really confused. “Terezi your name was all over the news. Both the school and your job known you were savagely beaten on Valentine’s Day. If they didn’t get that information then I’ll go clarify your situation to them.” Well now you know that you’ll be okay after all this. Your life can continue after you get better. You can smell Dave coming up form behind you. He has an apple and cinnamon like smell. You don’t know why though. He doesn’t bake any pies whatsoever at his house or anything. “Hey Terezi, you don’t mind if I move you so I can talk to my sister.” Before you can say anything Dave moves you next to John. You get a close look at his incapacitated body. This is the first time you’re seeing John without a shirt on. You can see his chiseled abs, his slightly hairy chest, and wonderfully broad shoulders. He's hot as hell. You decide to caress his face with the hand of your uninjured arm. You can feel the beginnings of a stubble on his face. You hear the sound of the vitals machine going haywire afterwards.   

* * *

**John**

You open your eyes expecting to see the face of your girlfriend Terezi Pyrope, but no that doesn’t happen. Instead you open your eyes to a room devoid of light. It’s like reality has shattered, and left the essence of nothing in its departure. The only sounds that are audible are the breaths you’re taking. Ughh, you can feel the wound you got from being stabbed by that asshole. It hurts like hell. Why did you have to get stabbed on such a wonderful night. Oh yeah, you became a meat shield to protect your friends and Terezi from the guy with a knife. It must have punctured your lung became you couldn’t breathe when you broke his arm. It was more muscle memory from the training that your dad got you in middle school, than rational thought. You don’t go breaking the arms of everyone who messes with you. That would be bad because you can be charged for using a deadly weapon. How is knowing how to fight deadly in anyway possible is a mystery. A mystery you won’t solve anytime soon because you’re stuck in this dark abyss. Maybe y’all find an exit if you go in any direction. There is a white dot all the way in front of you. That is the only thing that isn’t pitch black like everything else. You get up very slowly, to avoid any further pain from your chest wound. Didn’t the paramedics already arrive when you fell. You heard the sirens blaring out from around the corner when you got stabbed. Maybe this is subconscious, playing with your mind on your deathbed. Rose said it was supposed to be more like random thoughts and memories, than pure shadowy blackness. You guess the people who have given there perspectives on the topic, don’t usually say what really happened. They just died. Are you over thinking things. You probably are. You don’t ask this many questions about your psychological prowess. Are you psychoanalyzing your own psychoanalysis process? Why are you questioning your way of questioning things? Did this just become meta? Are you breaking barriers that have limited the field of psychology? Enough with the questions about your psychological issues in a world with only one light source. That white dot is getting closer. Except it isn’t a dot, it’s a whole house. Well it’s a large 2-d house like structure with five squares, and a roof chimney combo. Whatever it is it’s the only thing that makes light here.

You open the door for it to consume everything everything around you. The darkness that once surrounded you is now a blinding white. Now you see a wall that shows this is smaller than the void you were just in. Is this what germaphobes think about when they say they want a clean room. You hope not because this is just ridicules. It’s so blank in wherever here is. There’s nothing of interest in the room. Wait that’s wrong. There is a giant computer terminal on the side and a table with two cups. They are also white, so they appear to mix in with the color of entire place. You decide to take a seat and on the chair closest to the giant computer. You begin to feel a pressure on your index finger. It’s like it’s being held onto something lightweight, but clingy. Touching the finger with your other hand fixed it. You put your attention back on the terminal. Is it a super computer. You contemplate this question until you hear someone trying to get your attention. “Ahem, hello Johnathan. I’ve missed you.” That sweet and gentle voice could only belong to one person. “Mom!” You turn to see your mother sitting in the other chair. Is this heaven? “No, this isn’t heaven. This is a place called ‘The Middle’. It’s where all the people who aren’t done living, but are who are currently incapacitated come.” Can she read your mind? “No, I can’t read your mind Johnathan. I just know what you’re thinking because I had to push you out for nine hours. I know exactly what you think about. As a mother you form a mental connection with your child. It’s how I was able to avoid all your pranks.” Oh yeah, your father did mention that nine hours part. “So you’ve been here waiting for me to arrive for the past eleven years. That must have been lonely.” She smiles at you. “Not really. I have been spending time with my departed family while raising Jane and Juliet. By the way, Jane says she’s angry that your new sister is taking her name.” At that moment your nervous tense up. “Uhh, I’m sorry that dad got remarried and is having another kid. If I knew this was going to happen I would have put up a fight.” Your mother starts giggling behind her hand. “I’m not angry about your dad. He is a good man that, any woman would count their lucky stars for. I’m happy that he found someone else to cherish his life with.” You let out a nervous cough. “Wait, how do you know about all this? Have you been haunting us?” You turns her head in a negative gesture. “I would never! I use that giant machine behind you to view the living world. Let me show you.” She claps her hands together and then computer turns on. The computer shows you in a hospital bed in 2-d animation. Does this mean that all spirits view the living as anime? If so, that pretty shitty. “Watch your language mister. I may be dead, but I can still punish you from beyond the grave.” You stop cursing in your head. “So hows the living dead part of life like. Do you just wait around for things to happen, or do you mess around with people.” She shrugs. “There’s a huge time lag in between the two worlds. It’s been a few months for me, but years for you. I usu... I’ll have to talk to you later John. I wish I could talk with you about everything, but I’ll have to wait for that. Don’t go trying to rush the time though. I want you to have a wonderful life before you come back. Enjoy your life with that girlfriend of your’s. She way better than that Emily girl you used to date.” A loud incessant ringing ear piercing nose echoes around the room. Then you hear a very low voice telling you too wake up. 

You shoot up from the hospital bed you were laying down in. “I don’t want to leave, just yet.” Everyone around looks at you in shock. You’re parents are holding each other while in tears. Rose is shaking in Kanaya arms. Jade is having a panic attack next to Rose. Dave is missing. Tavros is trying to move his wheelchair and Terezi jumps on you. “You almost left me again, you fucking asshole.” She is holding you tighter than she has before. You can feel your shoulder getting wet from her tears. Dave finally busts in with a team of doctors right behind him. “Don’t you dare die on me Eg... Oh!” Half of the doctors leave the room in annoyance. “Ugh, this always happens when we knock them out.” What the hell happened while you were out? 


	37. Celebratory News

**John**

**2:00 pm. Sunday, February 22, 2015**

The digital clock in your room strikes the number two, signaling that it’s almost time for you to leave. Your parents are going to be the ones picking you up from the hospital today. It would have been Dirk because he works at the I.T. office across the street. Too bad he was busy today. That doesn’t mean today is all bad. Both you and Terezi have been cleared to go back home and resume school. Oh how you missed being lectured by Ms. Thompson on your Trigonometry assignments. You put on the clothes your father brought for you. It’s the henley and jeans with your Nike shoes. You’re glad that he didn’t bring the white dress shirt. You finish getting dressed when the nurse who has to wheel you out arrives. “Hello Mr. Egbert, are you ready to be let out?” She sounds excited. “Yeah. I have my clothes in the bag right there, and my parents should be outside at the pickup spot.” She smiles and gestures for you to get into the chair. You grab the your bag of spare clothes and hop into the wheelchair. She rolls you past all the other rooms in the ICU. You get outside to see your dad trying to fold Terezi’s wheelchair in the trunk of the family care. “Dad! You have to pull the release lever on the side if you want to fold it.” He grabs the brake lever instead of the release. “No, the other one. Let me help you.” You pull the release lever on the side and help your dad stuff it in the trunk. Both Roxy and Terezi are chuckling when you get into the backseat. “What’s so funny?”  “Your dad has been struggling with that for the last ten minutes. None of us could figure out how to fold it.” Your dad looks embarrassed in the drivers seat. “How am I supposed to know that a wheelchair has a release lever on the side. Do I look like I fold wheelchairs for a living, well do I?” Terezi continues to laugh. “No. You look like you work as a foreman in construction with that chiseled body. Why don’t you show me show how you can take charge.” Roxy kisses your dad’s cheek in a very suggestive way. “Honey, not in front of the kids, wait until we get home for this kind of talk.” Roxy’s behavior can be blamed on pregnancy hormones, but your dad’s is inexcusable. “Could the both of you stop flirting with each other in front of us. It’s embarrassing, for my parents to talk dirty to each other in front of my girlfriend.” Terezi scoots herself closer to you. “John, I don’t mind them flirting with each other. In fact, I like it because it brings a beautiful hue of cherry red to your face.” Terezi takes her time to lick your tomato red face. “Mmm, you taste delicious. Even more than than last time when we were in your bed. I’m glad I can still taste it now.” Oh you’re going to have a long time explaining that. Maybe after the welcoming party.

The entrance to the suburbs you live in comes into view. The luscious green grass and tall oak tress on your neighbor’s lawns sprout from the distance. It’s what you’ve symbolized home with. Speaking of home, it looks like everyone is here. Jade with Tavros and her grandpa. Dave with his brother and Aaron the security guard from your school. Rose with Kanaya and Karkat. The other trolls must be inside enjoying the baked goods, your father no doubt spent all morning cooking. Jade is the first to welcome you. “Oh my goodness John, you look like a fire hydrant. What happened?” Your dad helps Terezi out of the car with her manically laughing her ass off. “Terezi could hold herself back from licking my entire face on the drive over. I think she actually cares that I got stabbed in the chest.” You say the last part as a joke. “You have no idea! Everyday when we visited her, she would ask us every question imaginable about you. I’m pretty sure she has your entire medical history memorized.” You and Jade share a laugh. Dave is the next one to welcome you. “Bro I can’t believe what you did yesterday! You had us all worried that you were dying, but no your body just had to trick us all. I was about to become a disillusioned widow at your bed. Would you have like that John? Do you want me staying in my house wearing all black while mumbling incoherently because you died? I almost had a major meltdown like Terezi, when we hear the line drop like Snoop’s raps.” Rose helps Terezi roll up the driveway. “I was not having a meltdown Dave. I was just a little worried that John was flatlining.” Dave equips his signature smirk. “Sure you were. I also jump out of a wheelchair and smother my lover when I’m worried.” Terezi starts glaring at Dave. “Dave, you know how much of a drama queen Terezi can get. Have I told you about the time she had a tantrum about losing her glasses. She threw here spares in frustration.” Terezi starts glaring at you too. “But she was terrified about losing me to blow, that I took for her. We love each other.” You give Terezi a big kiss on her cheek. She pulls you into a close and passionate kiss. You can feel Dave rolling his eyes from under his shades. “Can you guys keep your mouths off of each other? It’s like watching a a bird feeding its children.” The two of you disconnect and head inside for the little get together. You wonder if this is because of the almost death situation. You hope not. There wasn’t any risk of you dying because you had taken off your vital monitor on your index finger. The nurse who had examined you said that was the reason for the flatline. Well whatever the party is about you just hope it goes alright. You mainly talk to your friends and chill out with Terezi in the living room. When it gets late the party starts to die out. Dirk is the one to take all the trolls home in his orange pickup truck.  

* * *

**Terezi**

**7:47 am. Monday, February 23, 2015**

The wheels on your wheelchair squeak as you are pushed off the bus. You had Nepeta pushing you until you had arrived at school. Then John would be the one pushing you around school. Your fractured limbs should heal by next month as long as you don’t mess the cast or further injure yourself. That means it will be a while until you can walk and use your right arm again. Your nose will take two weeks to heal, so being near sighted is your only option. You don’t notice anything different when Nepeta says, “I don’t see John. Do you know where he is?” Oh yeah she doesn’t know that he’s waiting for you by the bench in the front. “Don’t worry your little thinkpan Nepeta, he’s near the entrance of the school. At least that’s where he said he should be.” Nepeta just sighs and continues to push you. You know she sees John when she makes an audible smile. “I finally found you John. I need to go to the art clubroom for a meeting right now, so goodbye for the time being.” She runs off faster than you had expected to. It must be really important. “So how did you enjoy the party yesterday? I know we didn’t get to spend as much time as we used to. I plan to make up for that on Friday. How does a date on Friday sound?” Why does you feel like you’re not contributing anything in this relationship. He’s the one who always schedules the dates .“Sure, I will make sure to put that in my oh so busy schedule.” He starts rolling you to class. “No wait, how about you come over to my apartment, so we can watch movies in my room. You've been the only one suggesting dates the entire time we’ve been together. I need to take some incentive in this matespriteship. So how about it, do you want to enjoy a day of binge watch vigilante movies. I’ll make sure to have those fruit gushers that you like.” John gleefully agrees. “You bet your little butt I’m coming over to binge watch vigilante movie.” John has just set himself up. “Oh how forward you are. Has this been your plan all along, wait for me to invite you into my home so you could have sex with me. Knowing full well, that I can resist your charming ways.” John rolls his eyes. “Sure. I have been planning this from the start with my big boy brain. All I had to do was seduce the infamous Terezi Pyrope into inviting me to her apartment multiple times. I could’ve gotten away with it, if it weren’t for your meddling. Yeah right. I won’t force you into anything that you don’t want to do. That’s why I won’t force you to watch Con Air.” You grab his hand. “And I thank you for that. I know how much you love that movie, yet you’re willing to give it up for me. That’s why I love you.” John rubs your hand with his fingers. “Speaking of love, what would yo say we are? Are we matesprites or are we boyfriend and girlfriend? Like are we exclusively caring for each other or are we pitying each other while caring for others?” That question makes you think. What would you say the two of you are. Human dating dictates that you act as both the matesprite and moirail in the relationship. Which John has done countless times. He loves you in the romantic way and the platonic way. You can’t say that you haven’t been abusing his charity of caring behavior. He is exactly what you need right which is a matesprite to love you and a moirail to care for you. The both of you are different species, so why do you have to follow the traditional rules. It was made by genocidal assholes anyway. “I guess you can say we’re boyfriend and girlfriend. That is the only logical way to explain our relationship.” John bends down to give you a hug, but gets interrupted by the morning bell. The both of you head to class for the day. 

Five hours later

The school day goes pretty well. You get asked all about what happened on Valentines, by your very eager classmates. One of the more oblivious classmates asks, “Oh my god, I heard that you were and John were the victims of the attack. Are the both of you ok?” You move around in your wheelchair. “I don’t know. I think my broken limbs are a little different than they usually are. That or I slept on them wrong.” She of course doesn’t get the sarcasm. Kanaya reprimands you. “Terezi, there is no need to be rude about your situation! She was just worried about you is all!” It would have been John who told you that, but he had to go to his advanced class. How dare he be smart, and go to a different class more suited for his intelligence! You’ll give him a signature sharp tooth bite when you see him again. Maybe after this study hall period ends. One of the school’s social butterflies walks up towards you. Her name is Danny. “So you got beaten by your ex-moirail? I knew she was a basketcase, but to think that she would attack you is crazy. It’s not like the both you were that close before. Unless, she was mad that you were being red with  Mr. Buff-and-handsome John Egbert.” What? “I’m sorry, but why would she be mad that I was dating John? She was still here when I was John’s kismesis.” She looks shocked and embarrassed. “Uhh, you I have to go somewhere right now. Can you forget that this conversation ever happened?” Danny walks out of the classroom. Why did she get flustered, when you asked why Vriska might have been mad at you? “Terezi, what did you tell Danielle? You not have said something foul because she asked you a question.” Kanaya looks a little more annoyed than she should be. “I didn’t tell her anything mean if that’s what you’re asking. I just asked her a question.” Kanaya is a little skeptical. “What did you ask her exactly?” She says that in a not so funny tone. Why is Kanaya being grouchy today? “Well I asked her why Vriska would be mad that I was dating John, it didn’t make sense. Vriska knew I was with John before she got sent to Felt Corrections. She got nervous and just left as fast as she could. That’s all that happened, I swear.” She just rolls her eyes at you. “Kanaya, why are you being an angsty ass like Karkat? Did you see another student wearing a fashion disaster?” Kanaya takes a deep breath and calms down slightly. “I’m sorry if I was acting out of character. It’s just that I’ve been having terrible cramps in my ahem lower regions. It might be my body saying that I’m about to start my paling cycle.” Oh! That makes a all of sense now. “Kanaya if you think you’re about to start your paling cycle, then you have to buy tampons. Human females go through the same thing every month like us, but the wear a bundle of fabric to stop the bleeding.” Kanaya listens to you repeat the same lecture that you got from John’s stepmom. “Ok so where can I get these so called tampons? Do I just go to any store and order them?” You shake your head no. “You can buy them at drug stores. You just have to pick out a box that is right from a shelf. However there’s a bunch of them that are made for different kinds of people. Some are for beginners like us while some are made for women who bleed a lot more.” Kanaya is now confused. “How do you know which kind you need to buy? Is there a person who prescribes a brand for you?” You guess you’re supposed to learn this through trial and error. The only reason you have the right kind is because of Jade. Oh yeah, Jade is in this class, you could ask her what did Danny mean and for her to help Kanaya. “Kanaya, I need you to push me towards Jade. I need to ask her something, and she can tell you what you want to know about your paling cycle.” The both of you go see Jade in the back of class talking to Tavros.

They seem to be writing something in a schedule book. “Hey Jade we need you to answer some questions for us. It’s of utmost importance.” Tavros is the one to answer you. “Terezi we’re a little busy planning on important things right now! Can you come again later?” They go back to writing in that book of their’s. “Jade could you please help me and Kanaya by answering our questions.” Jade puts her book down onto the table. “They won’t leave if we don’t help them. Could you get everything on the schedule, while I answer their questions?” Tavros reluctantly agrees and gives Jade a kiss. “Thanks Tavy.” Did those two come up with nicknames for each other. That’s nice. Kanaya is the first to ask her questions. “What can you tell me about human paling cycles? From what Terezi has told me, you are an expert on this subject.” Jade looks a little confused at first, but quickly regains her composure after a few minutes. “Paling cycle isn’t the term we use, but that’s ok. I take it that Terezi has told you the basics of what it is.” Kanaya nods. “Ok good. You’re going to need tampons to help control the bleeding. I still have some in my bag for emergencies. I’ll give you them, but you will need to come with me to the store to buy some more for yourself. Terezi no doubt needs to resupply her inventory too.” Kanaya pulls a notepad from her pocket and begins to write everything Jade tells her about periods. “Hmm, okay I have everything down, but is their anyway of stopping it. I heard that some of the customers who order dresses have stopped their periods.” Jade just stares blankly at Kanaya. “Yeah there’s a way to stop it, but I don’t that you’re going to do it.” Kanaya gets a starry eyed look. “Can you please elaborate on how to stop the periods.” Jade sighs and pulls Kanaya to a corner. You also want to listen in because bleeding out of your nook is a bitch. “The only known way to physically stop a period is to get pregnant. It’s a hassle to deal with, so I don’t recommend it. Wait is it possible for you guys to get pregnant. Probably not because you have to feed your genetic material to a giant grub to pop out the kids. Even then it takes a long as time for it to push out the eggs, and there’s only two of them alive. You now what, that doesn’t matter right now. Do you have any more questions.” You raise your hand. You have time to ask your other question later. Right now you need answers to the other questions that puzzle you. “What causes these, so call periods? John told me that it’s my uterus shedding, but I don’t know what the hell that means. Trolls don’t have what you would call Sex-Ed class.” You have no idea what most of your bodily functions are for. Like why do you bleed out of your nook every month, what purpose does mating quadrants fill if your genetic material is put into a giant pool of other genetic material, or how has your species gained sentience if you’re hatched from an enslaved mother insect. “What John said is true. The uterus is basically your nook. For a race who had mastered planetary domination, you guys sorted every part of your genitals as two pieces. A nook and a bulge. We named everything in our bodies. As I was saying the nook releases an egg from wherever eggs are stored in your body. I’m no longer using human biology terminology for explaining this. We’ll only end up with even more questions. So the egg just attaches itself onto the lining of your nook. It collects nutrients needed for the egg to mature when exposed to sperm from the bulge. If exposure doesn’t happen, then the body pushes the extra nutrients out. That’s why we bleed every month.” Both you and Kanaya nod your heads. “Is that all the questions that you guys have? If so, could you please move so I can get back to Tavros.” You raise your hand again. “I wanted to ask you if you know why Vriska would hate me for dating John? Danny ran out of the room when I asked her about it, so can you tell me.” Jade mulls something over in her head. “I honestly don’t know. I remember John saying that he had ran into Vriska one day after school, but I wasn’t listening. Maybe you should ask Rose or Dave about it, they might know.” Great you don’t know anything more than you did before. Kanaya finishes getting what she needs from Jade and rolls you back to your spot. You should probably see what the others know. That was also a bust. Dave tells you that John said Vriska is a weird spider freak. Rose say that John complained about Vriska being a creep. It solves nothing. You’re going to have to get your answers from the source. John goes to your next class, so that will be the best time to ask him. You wait for the final five minutes of study hall to be over with. Once it is, then Karkat will push you to the next class to be John’s responsibly. That’s exactly what happens. “So how was study hall? I hear that you had been doing your own thing for the entirety of it.” You grab John’s hand to hold him down in case he tries to run. “Mmm hmm. I also heard something. I heard that Vriska might have attacked me because I was dating you. Do you know why?” John looks confused for a second then realization hits him. “Oh I know why now. I thought Vriska would have told you about since the both of you were still together at the time.” You let go of his hand. “She didn’t tell me a lot of things. Could you please tell me what you thought she told me?” He pulls you a little closer. “Well it was a few weeks before she got sent to Felt Corrections. I was working out in the gym after school when Vriska had approached me. You were hanging out with Dave if I’m correct. Well walked up towards me and started flirting with me. I ignored her so she pulled me into a kiss and said we could become matesprites. I of course turned her down and said I wasn’t the least bit attracted to her. She must of taken it harder than I thought she had. You know seeing the guy who rejected you dating your former best friend.” What?! 

* * *

**Jade**

**5:35 pm. Friday, February 27, 2015**

The ticking of each second from the clock above the reception desk fills the room. The other patients in the waiting room have normalized that constant ticking, while you have not. Maybe it has to do with your reason for coming here. Why did you come here in the first place? If you’re getting nervous about being in here, then why don’t you leave? You would if you could. The reason why you’re at the doctors office is for your annual check up. You have to see how the fetus that is developing in your womb is. The last check up two weeks revealed to you that the fetus was a little smaller than usual. The nurse who did the ultrasound said that it was normal for teen mothers to have smaller kids. Something about the body not being fully developed to produce kids. Hopefully that isn’t a problem now since it should have developed more. Being sixteen weeks pregnant also means you can find out the gender of the baby. You don’t really care what gender the baby is because it’s not like you really have a preference. Your grandpa does however. He has been wishing that it’s a boy, so he could pass on all his old man knowledge to his grandkid. He won’t tell you what kind of knowledge the probable body will learn. He says that it’s knowledge that can destroy all we know if girls were to find out. Whatever, you have better things to worry about. He is just an old man who is currently trapped reading about the newest action movie. “Ms. Harley, the doctor will see you now. I repeat, the doctor is ready for you Ms. Harley.” You get up and go with the nurse to the other room. Your grandpa stays behind. She seats you on top of the exam table. “Ok, I’m going to take some information for the doctor. How far along do you say you are? Have you been feeling sick, or anything out of the ordinary lately?” She asks these questions while she search’s around in a drawer. “I’m exactly sixteen weeks along, since conception. I know because my boyfriend has been keeping track of things. He’s more prepared for this baby coming out right now then I am. Also no I haven’t been feeling out of the ordinary lately.” She pulls out some measuring tape and a blood pressure monitor. “Your boyfriend sounds like a really great guy. Not many guys would be so active in their girlfriend’s pregnancies, especially for how young you are.” You see her eyes go wide. “Oh my god. I sorry about that, that was so unprofessional of me.” You put your hand on her shoulder. “It’s ok. I know what you mean, I think I needed to hear that.” She lets out a nervous laugh. “Uhh, thanks. I’ve just been distracted with my own troubles lately.” She goes on to give you a physical check up. When the ultrasound technician arrives to do the test, the both of you are laughing. She takes her leave and let’s the other girl take over. “Ms. Harley right?” You nod. “Ok good. Do you any questions before we start.” She pulls out a bottle from the tray on the bottom of the ultrasound machine. “Not really.” You lift up your shirt to show your stomach. The technician puts her gloves on and squirts some of the gel on your lower torso. It’s cold at first but warms up as time goes on. “Hmm...” the technician squints at the monitor. “Is there something wrong?” She taps the screen with her finger. “Your report said that the fetus was a little behind on the its size. It would seem that the little one has taken that as a challenge because it’s now bigger than expected. Did you want to know the gender of the baby.” You think you do. “Yes please. My grandpa and boyfriend are probably going crazy on what the baby will be.” He smiles at you. “It’s good that you have such supportive people with you. A lot of pregnant women need that in their lives.” She moves the scanner down your stomach and points at the monitor. “It’s a girl. You see those lines right there. She perfectly healthy and well ready to pop out in several months.” You do see lines on the screen. They aren’t straight lines whatsoever, but lines nonetheless. You get cleaned up and return to your grandpa in the waiting room. The both of you leave. You’ll tell everyone the news when you get back home.

You get home to see everyone has come over for dinner. They must have planned for today to be a surprise. Everyone nows about your situation now. They aren’t angry or disappointed anymore, especially after the initial shock. Tavros is the first to ask the question. “Jade how did your appointment go? Is everything alright?” You put your hands on your hips in a triumph pose. “The nurses said that everything is perfect fine. The baby is no longer smaller than it should be, now it’s big and strong. That and I now what the baby is.” Everyone except John, Terezi, Rose, Joel, and the Striders get excited about the news. Roxy looks the most giddy of everyone. “What’s the newest addition to the Harley family going to be? Is it going to be a handsome baby boy, or is it going to be a beautiful baby girl? Can we schedule play dates for them when they’re older?” You grab one of two colored papers from the drawer at the front of your house. “Are you guys ready?” Dave shouts from across the room. “Show us already. I have to buy a bunch of stuff after this. What kind uncle am I going to be.” He gets a dirty look from Tavros. “It’s a girl!” Tavros, Roxy, and Terezi, Kanaya start cheering. Your grandpa is left in shock at the revelation. “I can’t believe Jane is going to have a friend to play with. This is almost unreal.” That marks two parties in a single week. You can’t wait until the baby is born.


	38. The Second Coming Of Jane Egbert

**Rose**

**6:36 am. Thursday, March 19, 2015**

The sounds of heavy furniture being lifted then dropped repeatedly, wakes you up from your slumber. The source of this noise is coming   from room across from your’s. You have only one logical conclusion for it. It’s your heavily pregnant mother preparing for your sister. For the past week your mother has been nesting in the nursery. She has be reorganizing the clothes, baby supplies, and placement of furniture. Somehow everything is horribly wrong, especially when it perfect the day before. You know that it has gotten out of control. The rest of family your doesn’t though. Your dad and brother just encourage her behavior by following her instructions. Your grandparents just laugh it off when she has one of her fits. Dave and Dirk aren’t involved at all because it’s ,“They’re too cool to be involved with a hysterical prego chick.” You know that they’re full of crap. If your mother was to go into labor at this very second, they would show up with multicolored, “It’s a girl” balloons and in a heartbeat. The balloon’s designs would of course be handmade. They may be childish guys about their behavior and actions, but they take their code of ironic endeavors seriously. The pure chaotic energy that they emit, has only ever been observed once before. It was seven years ago from today that John had pranked the entire school. He had bugged the school’s computers to play Con Air on repeat and had filled the teachers desks with passive aggressive objects aimed at them. No one knows how he did it, nor could they prove that he is responsible. Which is they’re own fault, John is not a guy to be underestimated. People assume he’s a idiotic easy target at first glance, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. He’s actually an honor roll student with a black belt in Mixed Martial Arts. Everyone in this family knows how to fight. Both you and John have black belts in your own respective fighting styles. John however decided to put his belt to use in boxing. Hey wait, why are you talking about your brother John when you have to go address the reason for you being awoken. You get up and put on a lilac bathrobe. Then you begin your journey to go confront your mother. 

You walk into the nursery to see your mother in a rocking chair with your dad moving the crib around. “Ughh, does it look alright now?” Your dad is bent over trying to catch his breath while your mother folds the same onesie for the tenth. “Yes It looks perfect. Everything is ready for when Jane is born.” It looks like they have gone straight to business.  The room’s layout is entirely different from two days ago. “Aaaa, can we go back to bed now. You need your rest and I have a budget meeting later on.” It is at that moment your mother’s face goes from a look of contentment to one of disgust. “You know what, the changing table is too far from the crib. Can we put them closer together? It would allow us to be able to change her more faster.” Your mother is repeating some of her old habits of indecisiveness! You hate that since you were a child. On some days she would talk to you while she would ignore you on others. She never could focus on a single objective. Now Jane is going to be born soon, and the process may repeat itself. Except Jane will receive the attention she needs from a positive parietal role model in her life. She will have a loving father and a mother who doesn’t drink herself to sleep in her life. Unlike you. Something in you snaps. “Mom, I’m trying to sleep right now! Could you stop moving the furniture around every ten seconds. I get that you’re nesting, but could you cool it with the repetitive reorganization of furniture! I’m trying to sleep!” Both of your parents get startled when they finally notice your presence. Your dad tries to fix the situation. “I’m sorry that we woke you up, but please don’t yell at your mother. She’s not thinking about everything, remember she’s going through pregnancy brain right now.” You roll your eyes. “A lot of her overdramatic behavior is being blamed on pregnancy brain! I guess she’s been pregnant most of my childhood!” Bitter emotions that have been repressed since you were a child are coming out. Your mother will be emotionally and physically available for her. Oh how you wish she would have done the same with you. “What has gotten into you Rose? You never act like this.” You clench your fist and feel tears begin to fall. “What has gotten into me, well excuse me if I think that my mother needs to stop being so indecisive about everything! She had enough time to do that while I was growing up! I couldn’t tell if she loved me, or hated me based on how she raised me! It was a mix of overwhelming me with gifts and abandoning me in a bottle of liquor!” Joel looks flabbergasted at the end of your small rant. Your mother is now crying heavily in the chair. “I’m sorry Rose.” You could only hear a whisper. “I’m sorry but I couldn’t hear you!” She gets up and approaches you. “I’m sorry, for all those years where I was a shitty mom to you! You didn’t deserve to be neglected by me! I let my feelings for a man who used me, destroy my daughter’s life! I wish I could go back, and treat you better than I originally did!” You let yourself be absorbed into your mother’s loving embrace. “I wish for the same thing! I want you to show me that I was truly loved.” She tightens her grip. “I’m here now, and you also have Joel and the rest of John’s side of the family. We all love you.” The both of you share a nice and beautiful hug. It gets interrupted when John burst into the room wondering what happened. Everyone gets a laugh because John just appears in the door frame in a pair of boxers and muscle shirt. 

* * *

**Roxy**

**9:57 pm. Sunday, March 22, 2015**

The feeling of preparentalpanic and lower back pain is all you feel now. The back pain has been going on for a while. It started early today, but it’s not that important. You had back pain for two days occasionally when you had Rose. Anyway you’ve just finished having dinner with your family, and you’re scared of what’s going to happen. Your life is completely different from when you had Rose. You now have a loving husband, a supportive family, and a well paying job. Looking back in the past, you were a trainwreck. Which brings you to the main reason why you’re scared. A few days ago, Rose had admitted that she is jealous that Jane is having a better upbringing than she had. It was depressing. The both of you broke down crying in each other’s arms while the boys watched in confusion. They didn’t know what to do. There aren’t classes for guys who’s nine months pregnant woman argues with her daughter. At least you think so. “Mom, are you feeling okay? You look a little lost in the spaghetti.” Rose looks at you with eyes filled with concern. She no longer holds any animosity in herself, meaning she berated you on all your screwups with her. She has since accepted that her childhood was terrible and you weren’t the best you could be. You weren’t ready to be a mother, but you stepped up to try at least. “I’m just thinking about Janey. Do you think that I’ll be a good mom now, or will I fail her like I had with you?” Your husband Joel puts his hand on your shoulder and is about to say something when Rose interrupts him. “I believe that you’ll raise her better, than you did me. You had no one to help you raise a kid, so of course I’m a little sharp on the corners. That and you were still sad about my biological father being a dick to you.” You were so naive back then. You couldn’t see that Dillon was using you as his side piece. “He was an selfish asshole. I don’t know why I continued to date him, after he made me walk home from a party. However if it did date him, I would never have gotten the chance to meet you.” Joel holds your hand. “My father had a saying, ‘Life is only worth living when we find the balance between our dreams and reality. Dreams are what we desire to happen while reality is the necessary evils that lead us on that path.’ He of course said that this is how he met my mother.” Both John and Rose get excited. The kids always love to listen to him tell stories about his parents. “How did your parents meet? I remember you said that they had met at a business meeting.” He clears the table of dishes and loosens his black business tie. The pain comes back harder than before. “Hear ye hear ye, gather around to hear the love story of my dear parents. The story is one of romance, comedy, and...” Your water has just broke. The familiar trickle of bodily fluid pours out of you. “Honey, my water just broke. Jane wants to hear this story too.” Chaos ensues.

Three hour later

Everyone had piled into the family car with their bags, when you had announced that your water had broke. Both you and Joel had grabbed your hospital bags, while the kids got their school bags. Just because you’re pushing out a human being doesn’t mean they get to skip school. Their education is important. So here you lay in a hospital bed with a female nurse checking your birth canal. “Mrs. Egbert you’re about eight centimeters dilated. I’ll be back in an hour to check up on you. I can see you have experienced with this.” See looks at Rose and John asleep on the small couch in the corner of the room. “I have some experience with her. I’m his stepmom and this is his father.” She grabs the patient notes from the foot of the bed. “Wow! Normally stepsons  don’t interact with their pregnant stepmothers.” You get a little laugh at that. When you first started dating Joel, John was happy that his dad had gotten back into the relationship scene. Rose was a little upset because she thought she was going to lose John as a friend. You had dated a lot of the father’s of Rose’s friends. They didn’t push you away immediately when they found out about Rose. It was fun when those relationships lasted more than a few months, but they would always leave. Whether it be loss of excitement, or them being too controlling. You had never expected to find the love of your life, during one of Rose’s recitals. You remember it vividly. Rose was playing the violin in front of the whole school. She was paired with John who was playing the piano. They played wonderfully, the whole school was clapping at the end of their performance. It was at the end of the whole event that you met him. He had gotten a bouquet of lilies for Rose. You knew that Joel had existed, but you never could meet him. He was everything you had wanted in a man. He was strong, kind, and very handsome. You went on a date with him a week later after some coaxing from one of your coworkers who’s daughter also performed. You knew he was the one to complete you after the third date. That is how you got here in this situation. “Rox are you feeling okay?” Joel is in his chair right next to you. “Yeah I’m alright. My contractions aren’t too bad, it will of course get worse later on but it’s fine. Can you believe that we’re going to have a daughter?” You see him flash you a smirk. “I can definitely believe it, we have Rose. I know you me a biological daughter, but even so she is like my own flesh and blood.” You put his hand to your stomach. “That’s why I married you. You love Rose like you were the one who put her in me. Not many guys would do that.” Joel stands up and kisses you. “Well those guys are fools. Rose is the kind of daughter that any father should be proud to call their own. She is smart, beautiful, and very caring like her mother.” How did you manage to get yourself such a classy gentleman? Someday you’ll find out. 

* * *

**John**

**7:17 am. Monday, March 23, 2015.**

You are currently at a McDonald’s drive thru near your school, ordering breakfast for you and your sister. “Hey Rose do you want an egg mcmuffin or a breakfast plater. Dad gave me twenty dollars so we could get something.” Rose is more interested in her text conversation with Kanaya. “I think I’ll get you a breakfast burritos that Dave likes. Sausage burritos are so much better than the fruit bowls.” She continues to ignore you. Whatever they’re talking about is making Rose toss herself around and giggles. You give you a quick tap on the shoulder. “Do you need something?” “Yeah, what do you want to eat?” She lets out a grunt of annoyance. “Order me whatever you think is good!” Breakfast sausage burritos it is. You order the food and pay the guy on drive thru duty. Then you head to school. You’re greeted by your friends Dave and Jade who are questioning you about Roxy. “Guys she’s alright. She hasn’t given birth yet. I’ll personally let you know when my little sister pops out of her.” Jade looks disheveled in her giant hoodie. “When she gets out, could you tell her to help me with this being pregnant business. I’m super tired and very sore all over my lower half. All I’ve been doing is seating all day for the past week, and it feels like I just ran a triathlon!” From the way she looks, you don’t disagree with her. “I’ll make to tell her.” You’re about to walk away when you notice something is different. There’s no sign of Terezi or Tavros anywhere at the front of school. You would have run into by now, yet you haven’t. You and Terezi were going to talk about the date later on today. Meanwhile Tavros wanted to ask you some medical questions since you have read the pregnancy books and studied human biology. Unfortunately, they’re not around. You do however see the other trolls hanging out in the parking lot. They are gathered around a dark blue Ford Branco that looks somewhat used. One of them probably restored it to its old glory. It looks great. However you should ask them for some answers about the missing people. “Karkat have you seen Terezi or Tavros anywhere? They aren’t in the front like everybody else.” Karkat looks confused. “What the ever loving fuck are you talking about? I thought Terezi stayed the night at your house again?” Why would she stay over for the night, when the both of you were going out tonight. “She didn’t come over yesterday. I remember talking to her at eight thirty when she was still at the apartments.” Karkat folds his arms. “Are you absolutely sure! She left in a hurry and forgot her phone in her room. Wait a goddam minute, is this one of your stupid pranks. I won’t fall for it!” You look him in the eyes. “I’m pretty sure I would remember if she came over. I was at my house until ten at night.” Now Karkat gets angry. “Well there’s your answer! She must have went to your house while you were gone! Next time don’t bother me!” He turns to walk away from you. You’re not going to try and stop him because he’s being a bit of an asshole right now. That and he gets extremely irritating when you bother him. Whatever you’ll go ask someone else. Well you tried to go ask someone else, but Jade had ambushed you. “We need to go pick up our dates from the police station! They got arrested for being inside of a trap house during a police raid! Don’t worry they were released because they were there to pick up Gamzee!” You are utterly confused about what just happened. “Come on John, we need to pick them up! We don’t want to be late for school too.” You and Jade hop into the car and go pick up your dates. 

It only takes twenty minutes to get to the police station and back from your school. You manage to pick up both Terezi and Tavros from the police station with a few minutes to spare. Terezi is still in her wheelchair, but “Can I ask what happened?” Terezi readjusts herself in her seat. “It was pretty late yesterday, so Tavros got worried about Gamzee staying out late. I had just finished my phone call with you, when Tavros asked for my help. I agreed because I had nothing better to do.” You turn the corner leading to the school. “How did you guys get there? You’re still in a wheelchair.” Terezi tries to move her encased leg. “We hopped on a bus going to Gamzee’s pseudo matesprite’s neighborhood. It was quite the distance. We didn’t know which house it was, so I had to sniff it out. We had walked into what you humans call a crackhouse. Trolls and humans alike were on the floor enjoy the sensations of being high. We had found Gamzee smoking with some stoners in the back. He only got up when we told him that Aradia want to become a juggler. Then shit hit the fan. Vriska had shown up! She picked up a package from one of the dealers. We were almost outside when she saw me in my wheelchair. She started heckling me and Tavros about our shared disability, but we cursed her out.” You grip the steering wheel a little harder. “Did she try to attack you again! I swear, I’ll punch her again if she tries to hurt you!” Terezi puts her hand on her arm. “It’s okay! The police broke through the door before she could even get close. Unfortunately we got caught up with her in the confusion. That’s how we ended up in the police station.” You arrive at the school parking lot with a few minutes to spare. “I can’t believe that I’m going to be on maternity leave in eighteen weeks. I just wanted to thank you for staying with me, even after you learned the news. You’re the best Tavros!” Jade kisses Tavros on his nose. His small bronze nose piercing gets caught on Jade’s hair. “Babe could you please not move your head. Your head is wrapped around my piercing. I need you to stay chill while I untangle this.” You take Terezi to class while the others stay behind. As you open the front door, you hear the ringtone on your phone. “Hey Dad I’m going to class right now, but I have some time to talk.” You dad excitedly say, “Well that’s good. Jane Rachel Egbert was just born twenty minutes ago at eight pounds and three ounces. She’s beautiful!” You crack a smile. “Rachel?”  “Roxy said she looked like a Rachel after holding her for a second. That and she was a little to forceful on the having a middle name part.” She would do that. Well this is your life now, having a little sister and dating an amazing girl. 

 


	39. Happy 19th For Johnny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The outfits that the kids wear are the outfits they make in the game.  
> John- Wise Guy Slime Suit  
> Rose- Black Squiddle Dress  
> Dave- Red Plush Puppet Tux  
> Jade- Dress of the Eclectica

**Joel**

**6:30 am. Sunday, April 5, 2015.**

She’s so... beautiful. Jane, your week and a half old daughter is sleeping peacefully in her crib. You managed to get her to calm down from her little tantrum. Just a few moments ago, you had to give her a meal of warm bottled baby formula. She drank down every drop of that formula eagerly. Now you’re standing next to her crib watching over her. Looking at her makes you think about how life could have been very different, if you that car crash never happened. The Jane that’s currently sleeping in the crib would be an entirely different person. She would be ten years old girl, who you had with your first wife. Mary was the love of your life, she...no. She’s been dead for the last eleven years. You’ve moved onto being married to Roxy the second love of your life. It felt wrong to be dating someone else, but Mary wouldn’t want you to be sulking in your widower’s depression. She became a doctor to bring happiness into the lives of those who need it. Jane’s twin sister Juliet would also still be alive. You stifle a laugh at the utter chaos of having two babies instead of one. The countless hours of being awake because the other kept waking the other. The sheer amount of pranking opportunities of not telling people that you’re a twin. Hahaha. “Are you coming back to bed honey?” Roxy comes up from behind you in her bathrobes. “You’ve been in here for the past twenty minutes. I got worried that something happened, so I came over to check up on you.” You pull her into your arms. “Everything is fine. I just got lost in my thoughts.” Roxy goes to Jane’s crib and gently strokes her head. “I get lost in my thoughts too. However I know you’re thinking about the accident all those years ago. You’ve lost your wife and two daughter in a way no man should have to endure.” You join her in next to the crib. “I feel like such an asshole for thinking about them, I have you guys, but I can’t stop. We named her after her dead sister for Christ sake!” Roxy puts her finger to your lips. “Don’t yell, you’ll wake her up! Do you want to wake up a baby who can cry until the cows come back? Well do you?” You let your shoulders fall. “No.” Roxy grabs a tissue from the changing table to give to you. “Good.”

The both of walk out of the nursery and head to your room. “You know you’re not an asshole for thinking about the past. You still care about the children that you lost, that proves you are a great father. I wouldn’t want a horrible father as my daughter’s stepfather. She already has a terrible bio father.” Roxy looks you dead in the eye whole time. “I guess. It just feels weird to think about my dead wife when my current wife is here.” You see her nod in agreement. “It is a little weird, but totally understandable. She was drop dead gorgeous in all those photos I saw of her! It’s like you dated a supermodel, that was naturally beautiful instead of fake.” Oh that brings back memories of your first high school reunion. All your classmates thought that you had struck a literal goldmine when they saw her. “You aren't the first person who mentioned her being beautiful. A lot of people only noticed that when they met her. Didn’t you say that she was as hot as a jalapeño pepper after just waving at her?” Roxy shrugs “I could stop myself from saying it. The both of you were the stereotypical super hot couple you always see in movies. I was kind of jealous at first.” You pull her into your arms again. “Well I hope I can make up for that?” She lets out a cute giggle when you kiss her cheek. “I bet you will, you DILFs always know what to say to get me excited.” The both of you begin making out on top of your shared bed. It gets interrupted when you hear someone at the door. “Well, I now know you have type. I do wish I could’ve learned it under different circumstances.” Rose is standing at the door frame with her purse in her hands. “Rosy did you need something?” Roxy push’s you off of her and straightens her clothes. “I came over to ask if any of you could take me to the store to buy some tampons. I’m on my last two, so yeah. If you want to finish up in here, I can wait until later.” Roxy gets up to take Rose to the CVS store to buy her more feminine products. You would have taken her, if you knew what you were doing. Nobody ever explains theses things to guys. Think about all the single fathers out there trying to help their daughters live. They don’t know anything about periods, except the bare minimum. You’re lucky John is a boy instead of a girl. Speaking of John, you have to prepare his gift for his upcoming birthday. He’s going to become a nineteen year old man. Boy does time fly by fast. 

* * *

**Terezi**

**12:45 pm. Tuesday, April 7, 2015.**

The bell that signals the end of class starts ringing. Time for you and John to go to different classes again. He goes to his smart, straight A, honor roll class. Meanwhile, you join the regular students in group study hall. You’re not complaining about it though. The class is pretty chill, and you mainly spend most of your day socializing with your “friends”. For some reason they’ve become more friendly to you. It started when you began being John’s girlfriend, instead of whatever you were before. Why is that? You should ask Tavros since Karkat isn’t here, and Kanaya is occupied with texting Rose. You get out of your chair with your newly unbound legs. It took a few days to book an appointment to get the cast removed, but you did it. “Tavros can I ask you a question?” He doesn’t respond, so you tap his shoulder. “Huh! Oh, it’s you! What can I do for you?” He removes his earplugs. “Do you know why everyone is being more friendly than usual to me, it’s starting to freak me out?” Tavros does some think about the topic. “I think people are getting friendly with you because of Vriska being gone. Before she got sent away, no one wants to interact with you. She was a giant bitch, so everyone stayed away from you since that was a quick trip to interacting with her. You were also a bitch, but you’ve calmed down the magnitude of your bitchiness. That and your dating John.” You acceptance all the points he laid out, except the last one. “How has me being in a relationship with John changed people’s opinion of me? I’ve been dating him since the beginning of the school year, yet now they are my friends.” Tavros lets out a deep sigh. “They don’t exactly view you as a potential friend. As you may know, John’s family is loaded. Jade told me that his ex-girlfriend Emily, she was mainly after his money.” It’s starting to make sense now. They probably think you’re some damaged mess that can be easily taken advantage of. Well they’re wrong. “Fuck! Do people think that they can use me to get into John’s good graces.” Tavros looks very apologetic. “Yeah. They will always see you as the rich guy’s easy girlfriend.” Well that hurts! “Terezi are you okay?” You smell Jade walk past you and sit next to Tavros. “Not really. I just found out that people are trying to use me to get money from John. It fucking hurts!” Jade pulls you into a hug. “It’s okay. Let it all out.” You aren’t the one crying, but holy hell does this feel right. “People judge me for having this, so I can sympathize with you.” Jade teary eyed points to her obvious baby bump. “I lost count on the people who said I was a slut for for...” She starts crying heavily. Tavros opens his arms for her to cry on. Only a few students give worried stares at her crying. The rest choose to ignore it, or give her dirty looks meant for your worst enemy. The whole school knows about her being pregnant because of the bump. It sounds like one of Karkat’s movies with how she’s crying. “I’m sorry about her being a little overemotional, she’s 21 and a half along. You decide to walk away for the time being. 

An hour and forty-five minutes later.

The class bell that signals its time to rotate classes has rung for study hall.  That was about fifteen minutes ago. You’re now in Math class with John. You had hoped to question him discreetly, on what gift to get him for his upcoming birthday. However, the teacher had decided that today is perfect for a surprise pop quiz. So you’re going to have to question him later on. And to think you spent most of your time last night planning on what to get him. Now you’re tired and about to take a test. The test is made up of a variety of subjects that are complicated. There algebra, geometry, and trigonometry questions scattered all over the three pages. Algebra and geometry aren’t to hard because of John tutoring you on them. That’s why he’s in the advanced college classes instead of the regular classes. You finish one third of test when you see Kanaya and Jade turn in theirs. It’s only been thirty minutes since the test was handed out. Your stuck trying to find the right ratio for the stupid circle. Is it 41:3 or 4:13 You’re going to have to guess and say the latter. Something about the way the numbers are formatted captures your interest. It looks like the rest of the questions will be smooth sailing. Twenty-five minutes pass. A little more than half of the class has turned in their tests. Those who are still taking the test that you know are you, Tavros, and Danny. The rest are students that you haven’t talked to. You’re on the final question which is an algebraic equation with multiple variables. The answer has to be in the form of what the X equals in the grand scheme of things. You’ve managed to eliminate two options off the answer selection. They’re almost the exact same number, except for the numbers behind the decimal. You circle one and turn it in, may luck be on your side. Now you wait out the last remaining twenty minutes of class. You can take a nap or sit around and daydream in your seat. The former sounds good, so you do it. The desks are flat and cool to the touch, just the way you like it. Being a cold blooded midblood troll is hard sometimes. Your lower body temperature often makes you slightly uncomfortable in the sun’s heat. Who can blame you, your specie was entirely nocturnal just fourteen years ago. Then the planet got besieged by a stronger force which is ironic. A planet of galactic conquering beings getting invaded by other galactic conquering beings. You guess it was a poetic end, to the tyranny of the the big bad Condescension. It’s a good thing that she died due to injuries she sustained during the invasion. She would have killed the whole species with her stubbornness to submit. Only four hundred trolls survived the escape, and three hundred fifty six lived to be included in human society. Forty four troll were killed by the human government for being a threat. The ones who survived were the ones who accepted that they were no longer the strong species they were before. Only five mothergrubs survived limiting the amount of trolls that are produced. It takes about five centuries for grubs to be produced. Each mother grub produces at least five hundred grubs in a life time. They produce at maximum one hundred grubs at maturity. However you have to subtract the grubs that don’t survive hatching, the ones who die of earth bacteria, and the ones who die because they try to fight humans. Then you’re left with about two hundred grubs. There are 527 trolls that exist today. Trolls are now out numbered by the humans by 1:13282732.45. Trolls may die out long before they can rekindle the species to its former glory. The death of a once powerful species is on the... Someone is shaking your body. “Hey sleepyhead, math class has just ended.“ It sounds like John’s voice. “School ended for early release remember.” Damn, you forgot today was a early release. “Ummm.” He tries to shake you awake again. “Do you want me to carry you? I can if you want me to do that. I just need you to get out of your chair.” You flail around on the table. “She has spoken!” You feel him pick you up bridal style with both of your bags on his shoulders. He takes you outside to the transport bus. “Wait did you want to go home, or did you want to hang out with me.” You fully wake up at this time. “Aaaa, I think I’ll hangout with you for a bit. I need to ask you some questions for you’re birthday.” He continue to hold up. “Okay.” You feel him plant a kiss on your forehead. You let out a soft giggle. When did you become a giant softy.

* * *

**John**

**4:50 pm. Monday, April 13, 2015.**

Today is your long anticipated nineteenth birthday. You’re excited to be able to be a nineteen year old like everyone else. Your dad, stepmom, stepsister, baby sister, grandparents, friends, friend’s dates, and girlfriend are joining you for a birthday dinner. Your dad had supposedly planned all of this without any help whatsoever. “Are you guys ready to go, The Cheesecake Factory reservation is in an hour. I want to avoid all the traffic if that’s okay.” Your dad is standing in the living room in a perfectly starched suit and tie. Roxy is holding Jane’s carrier and diaper bag in a pink flared dress with a black coat. Rose is putting all the gifts in the trunk of the family car. She’s wearing full body black dress with a lilac long sleeve undershirt and belt. Somehow the pink sneakers completes the whole look. You are wearing a turquoise suit with a black undershirt and lime green tie. You look like a real wise guy wearing this outfit. Maybe it’s the various hidden pockets, that you use to preform card tricks that do it. That or your grandpa who sent it had this customized exactly for you. “John are you almost ready!” It looks like it’s time to go. You go to the car with your family. The ride to the restaurant is pleasant, but holy hell was your father right about traffic. It’s not as bad as it will be later on tonight, hopefully it dies down after dinner. You arrive at the restaurant to be greeted by Dave, Dirk, your grandparents, and Aaron. Dave is wear a red tux with a black undershirt and white bow tie. Both Dirk and Aaron are wearing grey suits with orange highlights. They all look very dapper tonight despite their obvious distain for being in “penguin suits”. They’re more business casual, but they won’t let that get in the way of wearing top dollar outfits for a social event. They do you for the sake of ironic pleasures. Irony is their additive silver tongued mistress and they will follow her to the end of the world. Why did you have that mental episode about the Striders way of living? How you talk about your grandparents. Your grandpa Leo is wearing a an light blue vest with a black undershirt and light blue tie. Juliet your grandma is wearing an all white dress. You greet everyone with an smile on your face. Your dad walks off into the restaurant to get the table, he had reserved for the party. William should be arriving at any minute now. He said he was bringing his girlfriend Penny to the party. From what Jade has told you, she’s the best girlfriend that he has had to this day. Speaking of Jade, everyone else is riding her with and her grandpa Jacob. And by everyone else you mean your girlfriend Terezi, your sister’s girlfriend Kanaya, Jade’s boyfriend Tavros, and Karkat. Instead of Dave and Karkat having a volatile friendship, they’re mutual friends who watch movies on the weekend. No one expected them to be able to coexist in the same room, but it happened. The hostess begins to usher everyone into the restaurant to go to the table. It looks great.

Two hours later 

Everyone has finished eating and drinking their fill. Now it’s time for you to open all the gifts that you are happy to have. You honestly think that the party itself was a big enough gift. All your friends had showed up to celebrate the day your mother had pushed you out. “Did you remember to bring the gift for Johnny? He is a young man and he needs this for college.” Your grandma tried to whisper that to your grandfather, but failed horribly. He pats his chest and reassures your her that he has it. “I know Julie. I made sure to put it next to my pills like you told me to.” What is it? “Hey John!” Dave is trying to get your attention with a roll of paper. “Yes Dave.” He give the paper and sits back down. “I have decided to break the cycle of always getting you a watch because you have five of them already. That and you broke my heart by saying Nick Cage was your favorite actor, so I got you that. A mint condition autographed poster of Ben Stiller in Tropic Thunder. How could you lie to your best bro like that? There are rules for this kind of thing. The only way to make it up to me, your best bro, is to place it above your bed.” You unroll it to find that it is in fact Ben Stiller from the movie Tropic Thunder. He’s holding an assault rifle in the stereotypical shirtless army muscle man pose. “If it’s the only way, then I must.” Dave nods his head. Jade’s grandpa, Dirk, and Aaron give you money in cards. “We didn’t know what you wanted, so here. Now you can do with it in whatever way you see fit.” And so you shall. Kanaya gives you a box. “I think this will help give you a more formal appearance when you go out. It goes with your clothing choices.” You open the box to see a light brown fedora inside. “Thank you, no one has ever given hat before. I think I’ll start wearing around school.” Rose gets up and puts the box away. “The hat looks good on you, however I can’t help getting neckbeard vibes off of it. We already have one white knight at school.” Dave and Dirk get a quick laugh at the implication of you being a neckbeard. That would be horrible. Jade gives you a mug. “Turn it around!” You spin it to see the words “World’s best uncle.” Your dad sees the mug and smiles. “I thought you would have gotten this mug in an entirely different situation. Then again, you could have gotten this from your wife’s family.” Everyone agrees. Rose gives you a pack of playing cards. “I remember you saying that your other deck is looking a little too old.” You hug her because she had listened to you. Karkat and Tavros give you a few move discs. It’s romcoms from Karkat and fantasy from Tavros. Not what you were expecting, but very much appreciated. Your parents give you three new outfits. “John you’re a young man, so you need to dress like one. I know that you don’t like to wear suits and all but please. You come from a long line of gentlemen and master pranksters, you have to show your honor.” Your dad is most definitely drunk right now. William gives you tickets to go mini-kart racing. “Who doesn’t like racing?” You give him a shrug. Now it’s your grandparents turn. “As your dad was saying, you’re a young man now. You need something to show that, so we got you a car.” Your grandfather pulls a set of car keys from his vest pocket. “We got you a beautiful blue Nissan Rogue. It’s new.” Hug your maternal grandparents. That leaves Terezi last. She pulls out a bracelet for a box. “I guess this can’t compare to a brand new car, but it’s all that I could find that shows how much you mean to me.” The price tag that’s attached to the gift doesn’t matter to you. You wrap Terezi in your arms and kiss her. “It’s nice! I love it!” Fifteen minutes later. Everything has been packed up into bags. Aaron, your grandparents, William, and Penny have all left. You’ll get your car tomorrow after school. The remaining guests are outside waiting. You’re about to exit the restaurant when you run into someone. “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was...John!” You ran into a girl who looks somewhat familiar to you. “I didn’t think that I’d run into again. It’s me Sam O’Connor from elementary.” Oh! You should have remembered the bright red hair of your first girlfriend. “Wow I didn’t think that I would see you again, especially after the fifth grade dance. How long has it been since you dumped me for Ryan Rodriguez? Eight years right.” She looks a little flustered. “Yeah, I regretted that immediately. It didn’t work out to well  between the two of us. You were a little chubby back then, but look at you now. You’re fucking hot.” This has to stop! “Well that’s good, unfortunately I’m taken right now.” You join the rest of your party outside. Terezi is talking to Dave about something. “Scorpions need alcohol in order to preserve the exoskeletons.” Is he telling her about his collection of dead things in jars. “John wait!” It would seem that Sam isn’t done with you yet. “I’m sorry if it seemed like I was flirting with you. I may have gotten a little carried away.” Jade makes her way up from behind you with her sizable baby bump. “What happened?” Sams notices the bump and looks at the both of you. “No we didn’t! I’m with someone else who won’t dump me for being a little on the heavy side.” Terezi walks next to you. “What happened?” You wrap your arm around her. Sam gets the message and leaves you. Dave decides to make a joke to lift the mood. “I think John forgot to mention that you have to defeat his seven evil exes if you want to date him.”


	40. Early Expectations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the ending. I got tired and skipped through it.

**Tavros**

**5:37 pm. Monday, April 27, 2015.**

The overall mood in your workplace is tense to say the least. Your Manager, Alberto Rodriguez is still adamant on his belief of you dumping Jade. He believes that Jade is stringing you along since she’s a pregnant teenager, and your a good guy. Supposedly you’re the ideal significant other for pregnant teenagers because you aren’t the slightest bit of an ass. But that’s beside the point. You hate how people assume Jade is a idiot for getting pregnant. It baffles you how humans have demonized the whole subject of teenage pregnancy for some reason. Yet celebrate the situation whenever a slightly older girl does it. That just doesn’t make sense. A few decades ago being married and pregnant before you were twenty years old was widely accepted. Now it’s a sign of idiotic and irrational thinking. Perhaps, Jade could have been a little bit more careful when she was partying with a bunch of college students. But that doesn’t excuse them ridiculing her. She was blackout drunk, and it was an honest mistake on her part. Was it? Did Jade just sleep with some random male human by mistake? Your mind begins to be overtaken by negative thoughts about your pregnant girlfriend. That kid is going to be a constant reminder that some guy went to town on her. As long as it exist, that kid will slowly etch away at the relationship you have Jade. You are beginning to hold a deep loathing hatred for Jade’s unborn child. The kind of hatred that had plagued your original planet, with destructive anger and oppression. You’re an asshole for thinking like that, and for letting the words of others get to you. Each and every word that they utter sows a seed of doubt in your mind. Maybe they’re right. Sitting in the employee break room has a way of making you think about everything. “Tavros right?” One of the new caretakers that has arrived startles you. She looks to be the same age as you. “My name is Venessa, and as you can tell I’m new here. Do you think you can help me around?” Vanessa looks to be shaking in uniformed boots. You give her a inquisitive looking over which causes her to get more nervous. “It’s ok if you can’t! I’m sure I can find some else if it’s inconvenient for you!” Wow she more nervous than you did, before you found your confidence. “How did you know did you know where to find me?” She scratches the back of her head in that stereotypical nervous expression. “I tried to get some help navigating, however no one else was available so they told me to go see you. I can see you’re busy on the computer, so I’ll leave you be.” Oh yeah, you were going over the school schedule for the remaining month. Graduation is just one month away. However, the last school dance or prom is five weeks before that. Hopefully nothing goes wrong and uproots the plan. “You know what, I will help you around. I wasn’t doing anything really important anyway.” You grab your computer and personal items and store them in your locker.

You finish giving Vanessa a tour of the whole facility. She was completely lost when you asked her if she knew where the stables were. You had to essentially hold her hand, so she wouldn’t get lost in the gigantic facility. Management is getting real sloppy with training the new hires. Normally Alberto or someone else guides them around, but that never happened. Did they forget they had someone joining the team, or did she get lost trying to find the guide. You may never know the answer to that question. Anyway it’s time for you to leave. Jade’s paternal grandfather had invited you for dinner tonight. You were planning on skipping it, but decided to go for answers. You can ask Jade about your involvement in this situation. Does she want you to be the kids father? Is she going to get into contact with the biological father? Does she know if the relationship will continue on after the baby is born? You know the basic questions every guy dating a pregnant teenager needs to know. Well there’s another question, but that was already answered a long time ago. You’re not it’s father. Although you kind of wish you were, that would have been nice. Having a little person that sees you as the most awesome and special sounds wonderful. They wouldn’t think that you’re some giant pushover like others do. You don’t have that many people who appreciate you. They always seem to abandon you when Vriska decides its a good time to torment you. Wow, ever since  Gamzee got arrested for possession of drugs, you’ve been thinking about every external crisis there is. You going to need a good feelings jam soon. Maybe Jade can help you with that. You wait for the bus to arrive to take you Jade’s. Hopefully she’s in a normal non-hormonal fueled mood today. How you wish that could be true. You get to her house to see her crying on her patio. “What happened?” She continues to cry her eyes out. She does stop to point at her baby bump which pulls every emotion out of you. You’re extremely worried about her. You may be a little angry about the whole situation of being a third wheel in the pregnancy situation, but you care. Is she suffering a miscarriage. “Do you need a tissue or something right now! I have some those peanut butter treats that you like!” Holy fuck! She doesn’t seem to be calming down for anything. You wrap your arms around her. You can feel her grabbing you like her life depends on it. What could have happened to cause her to breakdown like this. “I’m sorry for what they said to you.” You see an older guy in a college hoodie come out of her house. The both of you look at each other for a few awkward minutes. “You’re Jade’s boyfriend Tavros right.” You nod. He moves to sit next to you and Jade on the patio. “Well you’re a lucky guy to have gotten this wild child right here. I’m Issac by the way.” So he’s John’s older cousin who had invited Jade to that Halloween party. “Do you mind if I ask what happened?” Issac lets out a deep sigh. “I had found our infamous baby bragging about Jade to his friends, so I brought him over. I didn’t tell him about Jade, just in case he tried to run. He had his family over to enjoy a nice dinner. I had called Jacob to let him know the situation and to prepare. Everyone was surprised when Jade came out of her room with a baby bump. It didn’t go down the way that I had expected it to. That asshole and his family told Jade to get an abortion. They also called her a whore. Jacob had managed to kick them all out in a matter of seconds but Jade was already...” Jade lets out a scream that would have made the Condesce scared. “I see!” It looks like all your previous anger and questions have disappeared. The kid is going to need a dad and you’re going to have to step up to the plate.

* * *

**Jade**

**7:26 pm. Friday, May 15, 2015**

Today is the day the school has decided to throw a prom before the semester ends. You’re exactly 26 weeks along with the pregnancy and incredibly stressed out. A few weeks ago John’s older cousin Issac and your grandpa had invited your baby daddy to dinner. It was supposed to be a peaceful interaction that would have ensured that the baby would know its family, but it went down horribly. They had all ganged up on you. You were called a whore, slut, and bitch by them. Now that would have been a slightly normal if not weird way to speak to a pregnant teenager with your grandchild. It didn’t hurt you, but them saying that you should abort it did. What kind of person tells another to abort their own kid. Assholes that’s who. Primarily them and Rose/Dave/Dirk’s biological father. Now he was a worst asshole you could have ever meet in life. He had abused Dave and Dirk emotionally and physically for a long time. Then he had the audacity to cheat on his wife with Rose’s mom. That may have been a good thing in disguise, but the cheating part is bad. When she got pregnant with Rose he dumped her like trash. He got what he deserved when he was sent to prison with a rap sheet nearly as long as your height. Which is pretty big. You’re about 6’5 feet tall and still growing. You’re a biological abnormality because of your strange blood color. The blood that flows through your veins is a little pinker the the usual scarlet red. Your grandpa says it’s because of the distant royalty that he’s from on his mother’s side. It might be a mutation caused by the incest that royals did to keep the bloodline pure. From what doctors say it’s pretty uncommon, but the amount of gene repeating there was is unknown. You’re great times ten could be the his his own uncle for all you know. You do however know that someone else might have it. Your grandpa had an older sister who had gotten married when he returned from war. Who is she now? Is she still alive to this day? Maybe! You have no clue. You do have a clue on what dress you’re wearing for tonight. It’s a lovely black dress with green highlights on the edges. Kanaya said it looks gorgeous, but you feel a little self conscious of the baby bump. It just there like a a second backpack on your stomach. You still have two more months of this constant back pain, ugh you can probably wait that long. Afterwards you’ll have to take a year off of your education to take care of her. That or Roxy can help you since Jane needs a friend. Although it would be awkward as hell to ask your friends stepmom to watch your kid. Tavros said that he’s planning on go to college, so he can earn enough to support you and your kid. Your kid that isn’t even his. You’ll have to put a ring on that finger because he’s a once in a lifetime kind of guy. Speaking of Tavros, he is outside waiting for you with everyone else. By everyone you mean the trolls who are going to the dance. John is with Terezi, Rose, Kanaya, Dave, and Karkat. Somehow Dave convinced Karkat to join him as a friend to the dance. That shocked only a few people. Both you and Nepeta called it long before it even happened. They do look cute together, but they’ll avoid bringing up the topic for some reason. Anyway you’re riding with Tavros, Equius, Nepeta, Aradia, and Feferi. Both Equius and Nepeta know how to drive their shared Indigo Ford Bronco. Why is that? Only three of your closest friends know how to drive. Both Rose and Dave could drive if they wanted to, you however can’t. The state won’t let you because of your medical history. A PTSD ridden narcoleptic can’t be trusted for some reason. You need to go through extra hoops to do it. You can worry about that later, now you have to go enjoy yourself. 

Tavros is outside in his wheelchair with a corsage for you. He has a beautiful caramel colored tux and his fohawk looks great. Did Kanaya cut his hair? It looks like it was done to go perfectly with his outfit. Both Equius and Nepeta are wearing suits in their blood colors with the other’s as handkerchiefs. Your grandpa takes a few photos of everyone in front of the house. It takes about twenty minutes. In those twenty minutes you feel the baby kick and immense back pain. “Jade are you ok? You look a little uncomfortable.” Tavros gives you a worried looking over. Nepeta is the one to point out the wet cement under you. “Jade did you have to go to the bathroom that badly! We could have waited for you.” You take a deep breath and look at Tavros. “I think my water has just broke. She coming out now.” You fall to your knees due to the sheer amount of pain. The look of horror as the words register in Tavros’ mind is actually amusing. It’s more comedic than serious. “Oh my god, Nepeta you guys can leave if you want! Jade has to go to the hospital right ducking now!” Did he just say ducking? Nepeta gets the message immediately and helps you into the truck. Now instead of going to the school prom, you’ll be going to the hospital to deliver your baby from another guy that wasn’t due for two months. You’re starting to think whatever cosmic being out there that writes the story of your life, really hates you. Why would they hate you? You don’t think you’ve done anything wrong in your life. Have you? “Jade focus on my voice, stay away from the bright door at the end of the hallway.” Nepeta is confused on what to say to a person in labor. “I’m not dying! Aaaaaaaa! The phrase is take deep breaths or just breathe!” Your grandpa is in his car behind the truck. “Ok, breathe! One deep breath now and another deep... Jegus fuck!” You squeezes her hand with all of your ridiculously stupid strength. “Sorry about th...” Why does it hurt so much? Roxy said it hurt for a few minutes, then again the baby is two months early. You arrive at the hospital in a matter of minutes. Equius helps you get into one of the wheelchairs in the front of the hospital. Your grandpa signs you in and you get taken into the room. Three hours later. The nurse responsible for your room has told you to call her when you need her assistance. They have you hooked up to a epidural to help with the birthing pain. Both Equius and Nepeta are in the hallway outside the room, while both Tavros and your grandfather are inside. The nurse said that you should be ready to push your daughter in an hour. They are currently preparing for worse case scenario since you’re two months early. Premature babies tend to have severely undeveloped vital organs. Hopefully she doesn’t come out with parts of her body scattered around. That is something that would scar you for the rest of your days. “Hey, how are you feeling so far? I guess it must be bad if you need to use an epidural to stop the pain.” Tavros is sitting in his wheelchair on your side. He has been there for you and the baby for a third longest time. You know since he was the third person to find out about your situation. “You wouldn’t believe it! It feels like a beach ball made of muscle is getting expelled from my...” You feel another painful contraction. “It’s okay. I was in the room when John’s stepmother explained the birthing process. Six hours later. “Fuuuuuuuuck! Get her out please!” You are currently pushing a small human out of your birth canal. “Keep pushing, the baby is almost out. I got the feet right now Ms. Harley.” You continue to push until you feel a pop from your canal. A second passes before you hear the most painful and horrendous screeching in your life. “It’s a girl!” Since the biological father is unavailable, you’re grandfather is the one to cut the umbilical cord. The doctors had told Tavros to leave the room since he isn’t related to anyone. They clean her up and hand her to you in a little blanket. She’s looks a little smaller than what you had thought. She has your green eyes and fiery red hair like her biological father. Her face looks very similar to the photos of your grandpa’s sister when she was a child. You continue to hold her for another ten minutes, then you have to hand her over to the doctors. They take her back to do the mandatory tests to see how healthy the she is. They seem to be whispering something to themselves. The main nurse turns to talk to you while the other takes your daughter somewhere else. “I’m sorry to inform you that your daughter isn’t breathing properly. It’s pretty common that premature newborns aren’t always in the best of health, but her size is a little abnormal. She’s a little bigger than a seven month pregnancy is supposed to be.” You are sitting in your hospital bed thinking about why did this have to happen. “A pediatrician will come in later to explain everything later. I’ll bring the papers for you to sign in a bit.” She leaves the room in the quietest way possible. What happens now?

* * *

**Terezi**

**11:26 am. Saturday, May 16, 2015**

You wonder what Jade’s baby looks like. It’s common knowledge that the baby is a girl and is two months ahead of schedule. It’s probably going to be a miniature version of Jade mixed with the “bastard” father. Tavros’ words not yours. Tavros went on a full pissed off rant about Jade’s baby daddy after that dinner at her house. Both Karkat and Dave let out a single tear at how he trashed talked that guy. It would have been an unexpected event a few years ago, but now it’s quite common. The meek bronze-blood that accepted every insult hurled at him is now a confident and well spoken troll. The difference is very obvious. Anyway you’re with John and his stepsister Rose in John’s car. John’s parents are also tagging along to visit Jade and her baby. It’s more of a trip to console her for having a premature labor. It’s pretty hard for babies to live if they’re born months early. You have a slight understanding of what having a dead child means. Your lusus had died the same day that it was born. That shit hurts. The countless hours that the two of you would spend in telepathy sessions continues to weigh on you. She was just as excited to be hatched as you were for her to finally come out. You had dreamed that she would have been born during a meteor shower. It wasn’t to far from what actually happened. She was born when your planet was being invaded by a aliens. The forest where your hive was located was being carpet bombed. One of the bombs had hit her when she was flying and scattered her entrails all over the place. Her teal bloods covered your whole body while the remaining pieces of her corpse surrounded you. For a while, you contemplated the events leading up to her death. Did she sacrifice herself to protect you from the bomb? Normally the higher you are on the hemospectrum, the more unreliable your lusus is. They supposedly put you through trials to see if you could survive on your own. Vriska’s lusus made her kill other trolls to make her stronger, while Gamzee’s left him in isolation to make him a better chucklevoodoo user.  Equius had already proved that he was strong enough to survive and Feferi didn’t need to do much. Eridan’s lusus didn’t test him on anything. He was a perfect troll to commit mass genocide. “We’re here!” Oh you’re at the hospital now. You follow John all the way to Jade’s room where Tavros is writing something. “What did you want to know her? She is our little miracle.” The thing that Tavros was writing on was the birth certificate. He is now legally the baby’s father. “I think Joanna is good. I want to keep the tradition of having everyone in my family’s name start with J. That and the whole six letter names for trolls. Oh hey guys.” Jade waves excitedly at you. Roxy is the first one to speak. “How’s the new mother life treating you so far. It must have been a hard introduction.” Jade nods. “I was pretty worried at first, but after a while I got used to it. Also Joanna is back from the NICU, she just had to get all the amniotic out. The nurse is going to bring her back into the room in a few minutes!” Well that’s good news. As if on queue the nurse brings the baby inside of the room. You can smell the strawberry hair on its little head. It smells wonderful! Why does the scent of the newborn baby make you think about food? “She looks just like how my sister used to look  before I left.” “Ahem, I can’t help but see some of Joel’s features on her. Why do they have the same cheekbones!” Damn! After some explaining and storytelling an answer is deduced. Joel’s mother is Jade’s grandfather’s long lost sister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> John and Jade find out that they’re related because of Joanna. They all share the pinkish highlight in their red blood. It’s from the Condesce. You already know how this story will unfold so I don’t need to try hiding it. However the characters don’t know.


	41. Banquet Night Fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I that this is slowly becoming a shonen fight story, but remember it’s trolls. They’re a were species of galactic conquering warriors. Some still choose to live like they never lost the power they once held. Thus they continue their ways of bloodshed and extreme segregation towards each other. To be equal with those above you is utter blasphemy in troll culture.

  **Dave**

**12:46 am. Saturday, May 23, 2015.**

It’s been about a week since Jade have birth to Joanna. It was got weird when you entered the room. The Harley’s were questioning why the baby looked like a female version of your best bro, John Egbert. You started questioning it too after you got a good look at it. Joanna had the signature Egbertian teeth and nose. Tavros looked about ready to murder John on the spot. Terezi was a little clueless on the matter, but began to cry when it was explained to her. It wasn’t the cute ‘Oh no, I can’t handle my first world problems’ kind of crying. It was that ugly pained crying that you see at funerals with loved ones. It didn’t help that Jade looked like she was trying to figure out if he could possibly be the father. Joanna did have some of the same features, but there were differences. She had Jade’s forest green eyes and her actual biological father’s red hair, but holy shit that was scary. It only ended when Jade’s grandfather Jacob said Joanna looked like his older sister, Jane Martha Crocker. Who would have known that Jane is also John’s paternal grandmother. Once that was established as the reason for similarity, most of everyone went back to normal. Joel and Jacob were reconnecting as family while John was trying to calm down Terezi. She honestly thought that he cheated on her. Which is impossible because it’s John that you’re talking about. He’s extremely loyal to anyone who gains his respect. She should have a little more confidence in him not turning on her. However, you do get the whole lack of trusting people because of the Spiderbitch. You’re not even going to use the Spiderbitch’s real name! She’s a psychotic megalomanic who caused harm to your friends! She doesn’t deserve to be mentioned like she actually matters. “David stop contemplating your life and fucking help me!” It looks like KitKat needs you.

You stop looking out of John’s pseudo-uncle’s office window to help Karkat. The both of you volunteered your time to help set up the town hall building for an upcoming banquet. Supposedly it’s to stop the segregation of the residential areas. Trolls can finally stop living in cramped apartments and neighborhoods sectioned for them. “What has your horns in a twist?” Karkat changes her face of irritable annoyance to a confused angry. “What the hell is that supposed to me exactly? Is it one of your idiotic ramblings that is suppose to be the pinnacle of your oh so wonderful ironic schtick?” Why is this angry shortstack yelling at you like you’re his worst enemy. “It’s a joke. You know because you have hypersensitive nubs for horns. Like nipples.” He looks like he wants to tackle you. “Humans have a say that we use when someone is upset.” He rolls his eyes. “I know all about your nipples in a twist analogy. It’s a stupid saying that is physically impossible! You would need to have very long nipples in order to twist them.” It looks like he trapped himself. You raise your eyebrow in a inquisitive manner. “What do you know about human nipples? Is there something you’re not telling me about Karkat? Are you inviting all sorts of people over at night for lustful activities?” Karkat’s face begins to show the telltale signs of blushing. “And here I thought you were some sweater wearing celibate, who has a passion of arguing with people.” He walks closer to you with a bunch of table linens and a broomstick. “I’m not some flailpail, if that’s what you’re insinuating! I only know what I know because of Terezi! Besides, it’s none of your business what I do on my personal time!” He hits you in the gut with the broomstick. “Make sure you clean the floors. I would hate to see the perfectly white linens tarnished with the dirt.” It hit only hurts for a few seconds. “Aye aye captain!” You immediately get to sweeping the floors to get rid of any dirt or small trash still lingering. Karkat goes about setting all the tables. “Uhh, hey Dave.” You continue to sweep the floor. “What you need KitKat.” He lets out another sigh. “Do you what kind of decorations are supposed to go on the tables.” You stop sweeping for the time being. “No I don’t. Just because I’m a gay guy, doesn’t mean I jackshit about interior decor. Rose’s mom is the go to person for advice about decoration. I’m more of an digital artist.” Karkat just scoffs. “Your dumb oversaturated comic is supposed to be artistic. I thought it was supposed to be an English teacher’s worst nightmare, due to the amount of spelling errors that are scattered all over the place.” He begins to chuckle a bit. “Don’t diss the comic dude. I my metaphorical heart into the story. I’m practically the story’s mother. I have to hold down fifteen different jobs to support my child because it’s deadbeat father won’t pay child support. He’s too busy banging his new boo in some Malibu high-rise. Karkat slaps his face with both of his palms. “How the fuck did I end up here! I just wanted to help make things better for William, but instead I’m here listening to some guy talk about his trash comic. It should be burned out of existence.” You look him in the eye and say, “You haven’t seen the true magnitude of a dumpsterfire I can make it. I’ll make the Simpson’s tire yard fire look a middle schooler’s demonstration!” He has the look of a man who stands at the brink of death. “Let’s call Rose’s mom.” You nod your head.

* * *

**Karkat**

**3:27 pm.**

Both you and Dave are putting up the last of the decorations in the main ballroom for the banquet. After that whole fiasco of him figuratively pulling shit out of his ass for thoughts, the both of you managed to get your work done. The others who were supposed to help arrived two hours ago. Somehow you and Dave had arrived earlier than what was planned. It was a group of thirty people that arrived to make the room look presentable. All the tables are covered in white linen tablecloths with vases filled with multicolored beads. Each layer of beads symbolizes the different blood colors in the hemospetrum. Your candy red blood sits at the bottom below burgundy rust. The banner for the CTAHC or Coalition of Troll and Human Cohabitation sits next to the host podium. Everyone has paired into groups of four to finish setting up. You’re almost done decorating the banquet hall to look very formal. It should be done in an hour. The catering service should arrive in about an hour or so to prepare the food. Why they couldn’t have arrived early is beyond you. “Hey KitKat!” What does Dave want now. “I’m trying to finish the attendance gifts. Do people really side with others because of the small knickknacks they receive.” Dave shrugs. “Rich people love free shit for some reason. Something about not spending their own money really makes them get all hot under the collar.” You will have to agree with him on that one. “Wait isn’t John coming to this banquet with Terezi?” Dave nods. “Yeah he coming here. He’s super loaded, and his dad is a politician who is friends with William.” You already knew about being loaded part but not his father being a politician. You always thought he was some business man high up on the corporate ladder. Maybe it’s because of his actual shares in the Betty Crocker company. “Hey quit dillydallying and get to work!” One of the workers shouts at you and Dave to stop whatever you were doing. You should get back to work. 

One hour later

The banquet hall is fully decorated and ready to be used. Most of the other volunteers have already left the building to do whatever they have after this. The ones who are still here are helping the caterers in the kitchen. It’s just you Dave who are in the ballroom waiting for Dirk to pick the both of you up. Both you and Dave are going on a romcom movie marathon after this. “Karat, I’m going to need your help putting this up.” Dave is carrying the steel utility ladder under his arm. “It’s heavy so I need your help putting it back in the storage closet.” You decide to help him out, what’s the worst that could happen. Dave leads the way out of the main room, passed the long hallway, and in the small closet. You toss your end onto the nearby shelf. “Dude, just because you’re short doesn’t mean that you have to bully the ladder.” Goddamnit! “I’m not that fucking short you asshole! You’re just a abnormally lanky human.” Dave puts his hands up. “Woah there! I’m only joking around. I like your height it makes you look cu...” Dave stops mid sentence. “You dropped something!” He points to a bottle of disinfectant that was previously sitting on the top shelf. You go to grab a mop from the corner but end up slipping on the smooth wet floor. “Oof” Dave catches you and softens your fall. “Ooo.” You try to get up only for your eyes lock onto his. Neither one of dares to move a muscle, except to breathe. The scene in from of is so fucking cliche. Two people who are too close realize the other looks good so they don’t move. The amount of romantic tension in the air astounds you. This isn’t the first time that the both of you have been in a comprisable position, where you felt a ping of something. Dave smiles. “This isn’t how I would have imagined you going down on me.” He laughs while you blush like a anime high school girl. You push yourself up to accidentally straddle him. “I thought I would go down on someone more attractive, but we can’t all get what we want.” The both start laughing very quietly. “Is this what you guys mean when you say you want a movie night?” Dirk leans on the doorframe of the storage room looking down at the both of you. Dave quick jumps up and says, “This isn’t what it looks like!” Dirk takes off his sunglasses. “Then explain little man.” You decide to walk out of here, maybe Nepeta and Equius can give you a ride.

* * *

**John**

**9:35 pm.**

The banquet charity event that William had invited you to is going pretty well. Dave and Karkat did a good job decorating. “I want to thank you for the idea on the vases. I would have just put any random assortment of marbles in there if it wasn’t for you.” William is complimenting your stepmom Roxy on her design idea. She is also with William’s girlfriend. Your father is talking to some guy who has a CTAHC pin on his coat. Rose is talking to Kanaya at the table that was reserved for group. You should do the same with your date. “How do you like the party so far, is it as exciting as you thought it was?” Terezi tries to talk before she swallows her well done streak. “It urty cool.” You give her a look of minor disappointment. She takes the hint and swallows her food before talking. “I said it’s pretty cool. It was nice to be addressed as a Miss Terezi Pyrope. I felt like a dignified woman instead of someone random nobody. Will life be like this when I become an undefeated lawyer?” Terezi looks to you for confirmation and support. “Maybe. I’m pretty sure that the opposing counsel would neck themselves from the mere fact that it’s you. They wouldn’t even have a chance to deliver their side.” The both of you continue to joke around until the topic lands on Joanna. “I’m sorry for believing in the hysteria of thinking you were the father. I guess I thought you would have left me like Vriska did. You would never do something to hurt me, but I let my thoughts get the better of me. My therapist says that have major confidence and trust issues.” You had almost forgot that Terezi goes to a therapist once a week. She has been going ever since she got out of the hospital on February. You’re glad that she’s getting help. “I don’t blame you. If I was in your position, I would have done the same. Actually I did do the same thing.” You were full of negative emotions when you found out Emily cheated on you. “Wait, if you need to have intercourse to get pregnant, how did she manage to convince everyone?” You guess you could tell her. “It happened after one of my boxing matches. We were still fully clothed, while getting hot and heavy with each other. She told my dad all about how serious we were. It sounded impossible, but when she got the bump it was It became reality.” She cracks one of her sharp toothed grins at you. “I didn’t know that I was dating a  deviant. Was I your next unsuspecting prey?” You’re getting a case of deja vu right now. “Didn’t we already have this little joking conversation?” She shrugs. “You know what, how about we go for a little date in the park across the street. I remember that the local Boy Scouts planted a bunch of flowers there. Think about all the vibrant colors that are there.” He grabs her little purse and walks outside with you. “Hey Rose, if anyone asks where I’m at, tell them I’m at the park.” 

The park looks absolutely gorgeous in the moonlight. You walk around admiring the world around you while Terezi runs wild. Terezi went hog wild when she smelled the almost pastel colored flowers. Those Boy Scouts planted an assortment of different colored flowers and trees without any planning. They probably did it only to get the merit badge. Although it may look messy from a perfectionist perspective, it’s actually quite beautiful. The flowers not following any prearranged pattern to look pleasant to a bunch of old people. They follow their own path, which has a very wild and unpredictable appeal. Much like the little feral gremlin you call your girlfriend. She has very sharp edges to her personality that will push people away, but get pass that and you see the most wonderful girl. You’ve seen parts that many don’t know about her. She is like a teddy bear when she cuddles with you. You love her wi... You are watching Terezi sniffing the floor and eating some of the flowers. “To bright. to dim. not enough leaves. perfect!” She’s navigating the whole flowerbed looking for colors petals. You know about her natural synesthesia, but you don’t know how it works for her.“I never got to ask, but what does the world smell like? Do you just smell it in colors or do you smell it like objects?” Terezi walks back to you. “I get what you mean. You could say I smell the world in a variety of different foods. I smell your suits like it’s sour candy.” She precedes to take a deep inhale of your suit. “You’re completely batshit insane, yet I love that about you.” The both of you start making out. “And you’re the biggest dweeb that has ever lived. However, I have a giant dweeb shaped hole in my heart so I keep you around.” You can taste the stems that she has just ate. It’s taste like how freshly cut grass smells like with the added taste of her saliva. “Well well well, if it isn’t Vrisk’s little bitch! Couldn’t handle being alone so you got a fucking human.” Some shady looking trolls come out behind the woodwork dressed in all black. It looks like some of Vriska’s goons managed to evade police capture. They look to be much younger and shorter than you. “What the hell do you guys want? Can’t you see I’m trying to enjoy a nice moonlight stroll in a park with my girlfriend.” Terezi gets into a battle ready position while you try to tell them off. “You think I care about your night! You can go screw yourselves. I’m just here to finish what Spiderbitch started.” Terezi smacks the leader of the attacks. “Lowbloods aren’t supposed to rebel against purples!” He tries to hit Terezi but you push him backwards. “Leave now and we won’t have to hurt you.” Why do people like to target both you and Terezi! Can’t they let the two of you be in love and kiss in peace. The little purple blood says, “We won’t miss the second time” The other goons make their way to attack the both of you. They rely heavily on their brute strength and wild attack patterns to strike you. You being a trained fighter is their downfall. “Are they really using kids to fight their battles!” The indigo troll that tried to come behind you gets kicked in his stomach. Terezi isn’t faring to well with her batch of goons. They have her backed into a corner. You attempt to help her, but get stopped by a pair of ceruleans. You see the purple troll that first made contact hit Terezi in the head with a club of some kind. For you time slows down and a piece of you snaps. Your eyes begin to illuminate. The two cerulean blooded trolls that used to stand in front of you are now writhing in pain with a single punch. All the other trolls expect the purple blood start to float. Then they’re thrown onto the ground hard. The purple is the only one left standing. He zooms towards you, as if the breeze was under your command. His neck is now in the palm of your hand. “I’m sorry!” Light purple tears begin streaming down his face. Pathetic! “Don’t kill him, you’re not like them!” Terezi is crawling towards you. You see the teal blood gushing out of the cut on her forehead, you squeeze a little harder. His breathing becomes very strained. “Give me back my boyfriend.” You stops moving and goes unconscious. You let out a long sigh and release the little purple blood. “Kkkkkkk!” His neck is already showing signs of bruising from your hold on him. “Leave now, and tell all your buddies to leave me and my friends alone or else I won’t go easy on you. As a reminder, you snap off a piece of his horn. They all begin running with limps. Your eyes go back to being normal. “Terezi are you ok?” She was not ok.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The original Jane Egbert’s middle name is Martha because it’s the first name of Calamity Jane. The cherub alien that the Condesce named Jane after in the Skianet files.
> 
> John, Jade, Joel, Jacob, Jane 1&3, and Joanna have powers. They’re related to the Condesce so they have a plethora of troll powers at there disposal. 
> 
> Troll powers:  
> Burgundy- Minor Telekinesis  
> Brown- Creature Telepathy  
> Yellow- Psionic Abilities (Telekinesis and Electrical Powers)  
> Lime/Red- Emotion Telepathy (Make you calm down)  
> Olive- Enhanced Physical Capability  
> Jade- Fire Invulnerability (Can’t be burned. Kanaya was able to walk around during the day on Alternia.)  
> Teal- Enhanced Intelligence  
> Blue- Mind Control/Manipulation  
> Indigo- Super Strength  
> Purple- Rage Mode  
> Violet- Water breathing  
> Fuchsia- Borderline Immortality


	42. Therapeutic Advice For The Young and Misguided

**Terezi**

**3:43 am. Sunday, May 24, 2015.**

You wake up in an all white room that smells very familiar. The smell of disinfectant and sickness suggests that you’re in a hospital room. That or a fast food chain bathroom. You hope it’s the former, Karkat hasn’t forgiven you for that one time. You fail to sit up straight in the bed, you do however get a painful headache. “Oh god, my fucking head hurts!” It feels like a overcrowded mosh pit inside your thinkpan. What happened last night? The only memory  that you have of yesterday is you going to a fancy dinner party with John. The both of you were talking about trashy his ex girlfriend was, then everything goes black. You can feel bandages on your head, so you must of hit your head on something. You hear the door to your room open. It’s John. “How are you feeling? I’d imagine not good, since you got whacked in the head by a troll kid.” Is that what happened? You got whacked in the head by a wriggler.  “I can’t remember anything from last night for the life of me. Could you please explain to me what happened.” He tells you that the both of you ditched the party to go for a walk in the park across the road. The moonlight and flowers gave off a very romantic aura, so the two of you were making out with light touching. Then some young trolls who were in Vriska’s gang attacked you. John managed to scare them away, but not soon enough. You were incapacitated because the purple leader hit you with a club. Rose came outside to check up on the your little date and called emergency services when she saw you. “So that’s all that happened last night? No one got arrested or horrifically maimed.” You has to think about that question. “One of the trolls lost the majority of their horn. There was a large puddle of blood on the concrete pathway.” Holy fuck! Losing a horn as a troll, is one of the worst forms of injury. Horns are sensitive, so losing it would put strenuous pain on their skulls. “Ugh, that has to suck. I can’t imagine the pain that kid is in for him to lose a horn.” John just shrugs. “They did try to kill you, so they kind of deserved it. I might have gotten a little carried away. I’m going to get some breakfast from the vending machine, do you want anything?” Was he the one who broke that troll’s horn. “Just get me whatever, but we have to talk about la..hmmm.” You don’t get the chance to ask him. He kisses and hugs you, then goes on his. This causes you to flinch in his presence when you get a glimmer of something from last night. You felt a side of him, that scares you. He had turned into an unrecognizable monster. The image of him strangling the purple blooded kid, with a fist soaked in the blood of the other trolls, is ingrained in your mind. He didn’t seem to notice that you flinched in his touch. 

Everything starts flooding back in. You remember getting attacked by Vriska’s little goons at the park. You remember seeing  the purple blood hit you with his club. He looked amused more than anything else. The next thing you see is him being held up by his neck, with his buddies surrounding around you. John had taken them all down with single punches. His fist was dripping with cerulean and indigo blood. You wanted to only smell anger in him, but you didn’t. He smelled of malice and composure. He showed neither a smile or frown as he held the kid. Without a doubt, he was going to break that kids if you didn’t stop him. John would never be this uncaring about other people, right? “I got you a bag of skittles and a dragonfruit vitamin water. I couldn’t find a box of chalk though.” You accept the snacks with shaky hands. “Terezi is something wrong? Do you feel your arms moving at the moment!” He begins to frantic look you over. “I’m fine! Just leave me alone for a little while!” You push him away from you. He falls onto the floor ass first. “Oof!” John looks up at you in concern. “Why did you push me?” Is he purposely playing dumb, like you didn’t watch him almost kill a kid? “John, please! I just need some time to think. I’ll talk with you later.” Tears streaming down your cheeks as you tell him this. He gets off the floor and tries to approach you again. John sees you flinch in his presence this time. You smell his eyes light as he is about to walk out the door. “I.. I’ll see you later.” He walks out with him head down. You stop shaking and think things through. Dating John has been an adventure in it’s own rite. You’ve felt love, hate, and emotions of melancholy and glee in the seven months you had been with him. Memories of the love that makes you happy brings tears out. Why are crying? When did you become a useless whiny wriggler, who cries for someone to take pity on it. You were the pinnacle of self confidence to everyone you had ever met. No one would dare cause any inconvenience to..who are you trying to fool. It was Vriska who had that, you just mimicked her. What sits in the hospital bed isn’t a fallen badass, but a little girl who has been repressed for the majority of her life. She grew up sheltered by a persona of strength. Now that it is gone forever, she must face the world. Will she change and survive or will she stay the same and die. It is up to you to decide that. Maybe after a visit with your therapist. 

* * *

**Joel**

**9:37 am.**

What the hell happened yesterday? That’s the question that you have pondered on for the past eleven hours. You attended a charity banquet for your friend William to support his cause. It was going well, until you realized your son was there when it ended. Your stepdaughter Rose said that he went to the park across the street to spend alone time with his girlfriend. Normally that’s a ok, but you’ve been worried about him ever since that unfortunate Valentines night. Rose had volunteered to go search for him to alleviate your fatherly suspicion. When Rose said that the ambulance was on its way, you thought of the worst outcome. Did John get hurt? Did his wound start acting up? What happened? You ran outside to see that the police were already there. Terezi was being loaded onto a stretcher while John was talking to the officers. You deduced that another fight had happened, but John wasn’t the one to get seriously injured this time. Pools of Troll blood scattered on the pavement and on John’s person. His fist had a dripping coat of cerulean blood. Then you saw what looked to be a large piece of a troll’s horn. From what you’ve learned about trolls, their horns are notoriously difficult and painful to damage. The police didn’t ask to many questions after an explanation was given. The assailants being a part of the “The Alternians”.  A group of trolls radicals that still believe in the hemospectrum. The incident was labeled as a assault and battery. Nothing is known about the suspects except their affiliation and missing horn. Footage from the parks cameras was unreliable because of some electrical interference. The crime was of Terezi being knocked out was recorded, but what happened when she fell isn’t. It camera cuts back on later with John on the floor cradling an unconscious Terezi. Then the rest of the night unfolded. When John finished giving his statement to the police, he left to go visit Terezi in the hospital. He should be back home later on. Scratch that, you hear his car pull into the driveway. You guess that Terezi is already awake, since he wouldn’t have come here this early. You go to greet him but he doesn’t acknowledge you. He goes to his room and shuts his door. 

You decide to give him some time to compose himself. He’s a kid transitioning into a young man, so he needs time to think things over. You only get concerned when you hear him punch something. That’s the time you go see what kind of teenage adversity ails him today. You walk into his room to see a hole in the wall next to his bed. “John, is there something wrong? I’m here if you need to talk about last night.” John puts his head in his hands. “I don’t want to talk about this this right now. I’m tired of all this crap.” Maybe you should try to cheer him up a little. “Well tired, I know a thing or two about the shitshow we call life. It’s there to push all your buttons without any explanation or reward.” He rolls his eyes at you. “Did you really have to say that dad joke? You could just leave me to stew in my own self hatred for a little while longer.” You shake your head. “That’s not who I was raised to be. Your grandma taught me to always be kind to the people you love. That and you were her only grandson. She would have my but if I didn’t come see what has you all bothered.” John begins to chuckle. “I believe you. Ugh! I think that Terezi is going to break up with me because of last night. She could barely look at me without shaking from fear.” You raise an eyebrow. “Why would Terezi want to break up with you about what happened yesterday? It wasn’t your fault that you got attacked, or your fault that you hurt the attackers. You did what you had to.” John puts his hands on the bed. “I almost killed a kid! A fucking kid! He was the leader of their little group and the one to attack Terezi. I had his throat in the palm of my own hand. I was going to kill him!” Did John just say that he almost killed one of his attackers? You look at him in shock and confusion. He puts his head back in his hands. “Please don’t look at me like that! I lost control and went crazy!” You pull him into a tight fatherly embrace. “As much as I hate to say it, you did the right thing. You protected what you loved, and you had somehow unlocked our family’s abnormally violent tendencies. All in one day.” John jumps out of bed and screams, “That’s normal!” He has no idea. It’s almost like the family was built to be powerful war machines with how you’re built. Being tall, strong, and a little psychotic is genetic. You remember when your mother threw a whole oven outside, without any help whatsoever. She was easily 120 pounds soaking wet. “Give her some time to settle down, not every interspecies couple is perfect. She just had to get used to the fact that you have a more primal murderous state of mind.” John lets out a loud sigh. “I can’t help but feel bad. She shouldn’t have a reason to be scared of me.” You pat his back. “No she shouldn’t. However she will get over, you haven’t given her a reason to think that you would attack her right.” Before he can answer you, his phone goes off, Terezi calls. You leave the room to provide him some personal time with her. 

* * *

**Terezi**

**5:45 pm. Friday, May 29, 2015**

Today is your weekly session with your therapist, Ms. Sherwin Paint. She’s one of the few human therapists that provides their services for trolls. The majority of therapist who do serve trolls are usually contracted by the government. She isn’t because she’s a ‘independent contractor’. That and you need to take a special class to become a therapist for trolls. Anyway you’ve been seeing her once a week for the past three months. Ever since that night three months ago, you had started experiencing self issues. John was the one who told you to come here, so you could get help. You think he was trying to get you real professional help to improve the relationship. Which is ironic because your relationship is severely strained right now. Watching him almost kill a bunch of asses without emotion will do that. Your friends have taken turns accompanying you over over there. Karkat has so graciously decided to join you today. “How long do you usually have to wait here? Didn’t you have to schedule an appointment with her?” You stop checking the lobby room magazines to talk to him. “Yeah I did, but sometimes the people who are in the room before you need more time. It’s only been one minute since the beginning of my appointment anyway.” You aren’t that scrunched for time. You don’t have any critical life decisions at the moment. “Ms. Pyrope, the therapist is ready to see you now.” You get up and go into the room. “Good afternoon Terezi. How was your day at school today.” The sound of the plastic covered couch as you plop down unsettles you. It’s like a angry dog growling, but it’s lazy so it stopped halfway through. “Oh dear! Are you ok?” Sherwin motions to the bandage on your head. “I’m good. Vriska’s little gang of rugrats tried attack me again last week.” She puts her notepad down and listens to you. “I went to that gala event with John and his family. John had decided to go on a date in the nearby park. It was going great until a group of kids started instigating a fight. I was going against a bunch of highblooded trolls when one of them smacked me with a branch. I passed out and John went a little crazy. He had taken down all of them with a single punch in their faces. However something was off about him. It was like he wasn’t the same guy that I was dating a few minutes ago. I got scared, when I saw him holding the one who hit me by the throat. It wasn’t John was left standing, it was a monster. A monster that was about to kill a kid.” She grabs a tissue from the box next to her for you. “I take it that this is the first time that you’re seeing this side of him. A side that is to familiar for you. A side that reminds you of your of your ex-moirail, Vriska Serket. The person you had devoted your entire life to, you’re scared that he may also leave you.” You are taken back by her statement. “I..I not afraid that he’ll leave me. He loves me and I him.” You grabs her notepad off of the table. “Terezi, during our last session, we talked about you low self worth. You don’t see yourself as someone who needs the affection of others, when in fact you do. In your early life, you saw Vriska as the paradigm of a perfect being. Someone who is confident, strong, and popular. That became the basis of what you choose to be. However, you couldn’t replicate her desirable qualities to be yours. So you decided to become an almost mirror like image of her. There you found the image that you wanted to project. To bad others say you as an imposter.” You getting frantic in your seat. “What’s your point?” She fixes the bubblegum pink bandanna on her head. “My point is simply that you’re afraid of being left alone because you don’t have any desirable qualities. The qualities that you copied when they were at it’s pinnacle have now been casted down. That leaves you in a situation of trying to find yourself in the rubble of what you thought was your true self.” Her works are tearing you down. “If John leaves me, then I’ll just find another sucker to love me.” You hear the clock in the corner ticking louder than before. “I just You could. But the question is would you. You’ve already told me that John was the first to challenge the false image of yourself. He had invited you to build yourself instead of building upon the lie, for that you seek his admiration.” Man you really shouldn’t have told her everything. 

It’s almost time for your session to end. After the initial breakdown of your problems, you talked about your feelings about it. You felt ashamed that you conformed with how others wanted you to act instead of how you wanted to. Sacrificing yourself to be like everyone else was hard to come to terms with. Then you talked about the whole John becoming vindictive. You were scared that he could have left you. Something about him changing from human into something else. You’re going to have to go through a movie coming of age moments now. All you need is a credit card, a support group, and a high school dance. You have two of those. You are about ready to leave the clinic, but Karkat seems busy talking to an adult troll. “How the hell am I supposed to tell them how I feel? What if he doesn’t feel the same way I do, or worse hates me for it?” The troll that he’s talking to has an odd set of horns. They’re like the spades symbol in a deck of cards. “I don’t know kid? It’s not like they have a giant sign that says ‘Ask me out’ in giant letters. Hearts never said it would be this fucking hard to say three simple words. All he said was ‘Love is the feeling of being yourself without the punishment of being rejected. They will always be there at the crack of dawn and at the brink of midnight. To know who loves you is to see who stops you from drinking a poison that others see as a cure.’ I think he’s full of shit, but I don’t have anything else.” Wow a conversation between two guys who have enough romantic tension to make a movie about. “Mr. Slick the therapist is ready for you.” Karkat notices you standing there after a while. He gets up and walks outside with you. “How did the therapy session go?” You say, “It went great” with a smile. You pull out your phone and dialup John. “Oh hey Terezi, did you need something from me.” You know what you want. “Yes, I need you to meet me at the my work. We need to talk.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ms. Paint’s first name is Sherwin because of the brand of interior paint Sherwin-Williams.
> 
> The human’s exiles are human while the troll’s exiles are trolls. The troll exiles share the same blood color as their charges.  
> Spades Slick-Red blood  
> Hearts Boxcars-Brown blood  
> Clubs Douce-Yellow blood  
> Diamonds Drogue-Burgundy blood  
> Black Queen-Cerulean blood  
> White Queen-Teal blood


	43. Graduation Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of this story, but not the end of the adventure.

**Terezi**

**7:15 pm. Friday, May 29, 2015**

The white noise of the cafe is seemingly nonexistent at the moment. It’s like the restaurant had gotten a heads-up about you coming to talk with John. “So, what did you want to talk about? “ John is sitting nervously in his chair across from you. He probably thinks that you invited him over to dump him, that the farthest thing from the truth. ”I wanted to talk about the topic of our relationship. Specifically the future of it.” John is really sweating in his chair. “I get it. You don’t want to see me anymore, I’ll leave you be!” He almost runs out of your reach. “That’s not what I was going to say!” You pull him back into his chair. “I was trying to say that I want this relationship to last. You were the first person to help me out when you saw that I wasn’t alright.” You wrap your hands around his. “Our relationship isn’t the picture perfect model that everyone wants, then again our love isn’t normal in troll standards. A matespriteship is more of an informal relationship.” John raises his eyebrow in an inquisitive manner. “How so?” You guess he needs more cultural information than what the teacher gives. “A matespritship is a bond created by two troll who share a mutual sense of pity. The pity is based on the knowledge that you have a crucial need for each other to survive. Although it’s become redundant, since you can’t be executed for not contributing material anymore. Anyway that’s not the point. I was scared when you overpowered those kids last week, but it wasn’t for the reason that you’re thinking about.” He looks a little worried when you say that. “Ok a little bit of that reason. I was scared that you were starting to turn into Vriska. You only needed to be a lying manipulative bitch, and then you would have been a complete copy. I tried distancing myself from you to avoid getting hurt again but that failed.” You start crying a little. John notices and wraps his hands in his. “Terezi!” He paps your face as if he was your moirail to calm you down. Holy fuck does it feel great. “I wouldn’t leave you alone like she did. I love you way too much to do that to you.” Now for your next objective. “John, I want to move our relationship to the next level, let’s be.” John practically jumps out of his seat. “Not yet. I love you, but we should wait a little while longer before we make such a huge commitment.” What? You were going to ask him to get matching bracelets or something. “What?” He looks confused. “Weren’t you asking me to marry you?” The both of you share a look of bewilderment at your joint conclusion jumping. “I’m pretty sure that you’re supposed to be the one to propose, but we know that I will be first.” You both get a laugh out and get back to the drink the both of you ordered. Yuck, it’s cold!

**4:36 pm. Friday, June 5, 2015**

Today is the day of your High School Graduation Ceremony. You’re currently getting dressed in your neon yellow graduation gown. The Derse class has a dark purple colored gown. It smells like raisins. Memories of the past year flashes in front of you. It’s been a long year of having emotional downfalls and finding yourself. Vriska dumping you as her moirail was actually a blessing in disguise. Her toxic behavior was repressing your true self. Any you’re almost done getting dressed in your street clothes. The event starts at 6:00 and you’re leaving at 5:15, but it’s better to be ready. Your roommate Fregoi walks in halfway through you changing. “Oh’ I’m sorry! I’m should have known to knock first.” She hasn’t changed at all from the shy and nervous yellow blood you met way back then. “Hahaha, don’t worry you’re not seeing anything too important.” You just a black undershirt with your symbol and your white scalmate boxers. To you, this isn’t very revealing. You’ve hung out with the others in this. She none the less goes blushing like an anime school girl. “I need to grab my purse. Ramona and I are going to a restaurant.” She does exactly what she say and runs off. You hope she didn’t forget her money again, she couldn’t live down the embarrassment of having Ramona pay for their romantic dinner. You finish getting dressed and go out into the hall. Kanaya and Aradia are standing next to the door to the communal girl’s restroom. “I don’t think it would be very appropriate to wear a shirt like that to a funeral. It’s a major faux pas to humans.” Hmm? Aradia seems to being more socially awkward today than usual. You should go meet up with Nepeta, since she’s your ride. Unfortunately, you get ambushed by Sollux. Is today ‘Run into a gold blood day’ or something. “TZ have you seen Ampora? The bastard owes me an apology.” What kind of squabble did these two get into today? “I haven’t smelled him if that’s what you’re asking. Ask Feferi if he’s tried flirting with her.” Sollux shakes his head in disagreement. “I just saw Feferi, he isn’t with her. He’s probably trying to get someone to become his quadmate.” He pull out his phone to check something. “There you are! Oh yeah, congratulations on getting into Skia University.” Sollux practically sprints to whatever area of the apartments Eridan is in. Wait, how did he know that you got accepted into Skia University? You have yet to tell anyone else about it. John was supposed to be the first to know about that. You know what never mind, he probably checked your email. It’s not like it’ll hurt anyone. 

* * *

**Rose**

**5:46 pm.**

Your mother is very persistent on taking pictures of you and John in your graduation gowns. “Rosy, stand closer to John. No, a little closer, we want to show that we’re a family instead of strangers standing next to each other. Perfect!” After she satisfies her cravings of getting family pictures, does she allow you to go to your assigned seat? The ceremony will officially start in fourteen more minutes. Your mom, Joel, Dirk, and grandparents are sitting in the top row. Possibly with homemade posters that feature an old photo of you. It doesn’t matter though, you won’t be seeing some of these people again. “Heya Rose.” Well look who it is, it’s Nepeta. Nepeta has the chair next to yours. “Hello Nepeta, how are you today?” She adjusts her graduation cap to fit better on her little indigo cat hat. “I’m doing pretty well. I’m a little nervous, but that to be expected. It’s our one and only high school graduation. Did you hear about the party tonight, it’s going to be near your house.” She doesn’t sound too happy. She doesn’t usually change the topic in a discussion. You give her a look of neutral disbelief. “Ok fine, Equius and I are fighting over something pretty important right now.” You never thought that the Nepeta and Equius would have discourse over anything. They’re the literal definition of a healthy morialegiance. “Might I inquire why?” She begins to slouch in her chair. “He got his acceptance letter to Washington State University a few days ago. I didn’t get accepted, so he threw the letter in the trash. I told him that he should go. We argued until I stormed out of his room. As you know, it didn’t end well.” Wow. It would seem that Equius doesn’t want to leave Nepeta alone. It makes perfect sense. Moirails are heavily co-dependent on each other. To them, losing one is similar to losing a piece of themselves. “Nepeta, you did the right thing. You tried to stop him from ruining his future. That makes you a true moirail. A moirail that Equius will not risk losing.” Nepeta leans on your shoulder. “I hope so. It would suck to lose my favorite climbing wall.” She says the last part jokingly. The principal Mr. Hussie steps out from behind the curtains to start the ceremony. “Welcome everyone to the epilogue of your high school education. Some may be made that there kids didn’t make it, but that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. You’ll find either find joy or disparity by the end of this.” He tends to speak in a forbidding manner.

* * *

**Dave**

**8:15 pm.**

The graduation ceremony has been going on for the past two and a quarter of an hour. There’s only forty five minutes left for the last ten people to get their degrees and for the administrators to give their ending speech. You’re next to go up after some girl named Rossi Sterling. You see that Karkat is five students behind you and Equius is at the back end. The reason why you notice him is that he can’t stay still. He has been pacing around in his spot for a while. You wonder why though. “Next up is David Eli Strider!” You’re middle name was Elizabeth before your brother changed it when he adopted you. Why was your middle name Elizabeth? Well your mother was a bit of a narcissist so she gave you her name. It’s better to forget that she ever existed at all. You’re for the theory that you were created in a lab. You walk onto the stage and accept your diploma from the principal. “For his extensive generosity towards volunteering his time, he has been awarded the Community Service Award.” You only volunteered your time to hangout with Karkat. He is a great guy that may act like a cat once in a while, but he likes to be close to his friends. You see beyond his angry napoleon complex. “Do you have any words that you would like to say to everyone?” You guess that you could utter a few words that your brother would be proud of. The whole auditorium looks at you in anticipation, waiting to hear what you have to say. What could you say at the moment. Your eyes search the area around you for any inspiration. Nothing inspires you. Then you see Karkat standing behind the curtain with a smile. A smile that fits him like a glove. A smile that causes your heart to beat a little faster when you see it. “Life is too short to just ignore your feelings that whisper in your ears. I want to say something that may, or may not ruin everything that has been built.” Everyone starts turning their heads to see what you saw. “I want to admit that I’ve fallen in love. A guy in this very building has stolen my heart since the very beginning. This mysterious inamorato is the most caring, lovable, and handsome..” Dirk shouts from his seat “Say their name already!” Roxy shushes him. “Their name is Karkat Vantas.” As if on cue the whole student body says, “WHAT!” You  make a peace sign and walk off back to your seat. 

* * *

**Jade**

**8:57 pm.**

After the whole fiasco of Dave admitting his love for Karkat, and Karkat getting his diploma and Community Service Award do things begin to calm down. The principal Mr. Hussie got everyone’s attention by snapping his fingers once. It somehow silenced everyone, then he delivered his ending speech. Now everyone is crowding around the exit. “Hey Jade!” Tavros is rolling towards you in his wheelchair. “I can’t believe Dave admitted his love for Karkat like that. There’s no way that Karkat is going to say no.” You begin laughing. “If what Nepeta has told has told me about Karkat’s romcom addiction, then they'll no doubt be making out by now.” Now the both of you are laughing hysterically in a lobby full of people. You stop so you can look for your grandpa and uncle. There outside with John, Rose, Roxy, Dave, Dirk, Terezi, Karkat, Kanaya, and John’s maternal grandparents. In the corner of your eye you see Nepeta and Equius hugging and crying. Did something happen between those two. You feel like someone is missing, that would be your kid. Your baby Joanna is only a few weeks old, so she at home with a babysitter. Normally she should be in a hospital since she a pre-me but that isn’t the case. She was born a little less than fully developed which is weird for a two month pre-me. She will have some defects but nothing too serious. “Don’t be so doom and Gloom Karkles. Your dream date is finally coming to fruition.” Terezi is making fun of Karkat blushing while hiding behind Dave. “Don’t ruin his satisfaction for the time being.” Kanaya is being the mother hen of the group. Rose and Dave are giggling about their troll dates while John and his dad are talking about something out of earshot. John finishes talking to his dad and walks over. “My dad says we can go to the party that’s happening, as long as we don’t drive drunk or get into trouble.” Everyone expect you and Tavros go with John. As you’ve said, you have a kid at home. “I know that you wish that you could have left with them, but you chose to stick with me.” You say to Tavros. He grabs your hand. “Ever since Joanna was born, I chose to be her father when her real one abandoned her. I’m as involved in her life as you are.” You really struck jackpot with him didn’t you. And so the two of you ride back to your house with your grandfather. The babysitter gets paid for her four hours of work and you go to Joanna’s room. She looks so peaceful in her small oak crib. You go to the living room of your house and sit next to Tavros. He looks to be reading something that excites him. “What has you so giddy?” He turns the computer around to face you. You see that it’s an acceptance letter email for the  Skia Tech veterinary program. “Congratulations on getting accepted! I knew that you were going to get into the program.” You are genuinely happy for him. “Do you know we your acceptance email is going to arrive? It should have arrived already.” Hmm. You take a deep breath and decide to tell him. “It’s not going to come. I never applied for it because I need to take care of Joanna.” Tavros tries to say something, but you put your finger to his mouth to quite him. “Shhh. You are going to go to the college, you’re going to pass your classes, and you’re going to get a degree. Is that clear.” He nods slowly. “Good!” You move your finger off of his lips and kiss him. It starts to get a little heated, but unfortunately Joanna needs you now. The both of you go check her. “I guess it’s time to be father.”

* * *

**John**

**10:21 pm.**

The entrance to house is crowded with drunk teenagers. You've just got back from the CVS from around the corner. You had done a quick pick up of some legal drinks. You could have gone to your house, but you don’t want to steal any soda from the fridge. You’re the only one who can drive, and Dave wanted a bottle of coke. So you volunteered so he could spend time with his new boyfriend. Let it be known, that you’re the best bro/wingman. “Wooo, no more school.” Some random guy bolts out of the driveway while screaming that phrase. The party is pretty cool. The party is being held in the school’s most popular social butterfly’s house, Danny Freedmen. Her parents had to go on a business trip, so they left her and her older brother to take care of the house. That’s just asking for trouble. The wild teenager kind of trouble. Your parents aren’t at the house, but they’re still in the city. Anyway back to what you were talking about. It’s the perfect stereotypical high school house party, there’s a crap ton of alcohol and music is blaring all over. Some taps your shoulder from behind. “Johnathan have you seen Rose? I went to the bathroom and now she’s gone.” You shrug. You don’t know where Rose, or anyone else is for that matter. Maybe you should search for your group with her. “Come on, we’ll find them faster if we work together.” Kanaya goes upstairs while you go to the backyard. Terezi, Equius, and Nepeta are hanging out next to a pool. “So you’re going to Skia Tech, however you’re going Washington State.” Their conversation is slightly audible because of the music. Terezi smell you and spins around to motion you closer. As you get closer you notice that Nepeta and Equius are holding red solo cups fill of beer. Terezi has a cup of Dr. Pepper. “Equius was just telling me about him getting accepted into Washington State. He’s planning to get his bachelors in engineering.” Equius looks to be drunk off his ass. “Yeah, I..I’m going there. They have one of the best injuring, engineering programs.” He swaying on his feet. “Woah there, I think you should go sit down before you fall.” Nepeta helps Equius inside the house, Leaving you and Terezi alone together. You get a text from Kanaya saying that she’s with Rose, Dave, and Karkat at some dinner. Terezi decides to take the lead by pulling you into the house. She takes you to dining room and pulls her phone out of her pocket. “Read this.” Her phone is on an email that she has saved. It reads, ‘Congratulations on your acceptance to Skia Tech University, Ms. Terezi Pyrope.’ Shes smiling with the biggest smile that she can muster. You lean in for a kiss but get interrupted. “COPS!” Oh shit! Both you and Terezi make a run for your house about a block away. In order to evade the police, you’ll need to jump over some of your neighbor’s fences. Lucky for you, you’re tall enough to easily jump the fences, but Terezi needs help. So what do you do? You throw her over your shoulder and run. That feeling you felt when you got attacked two weeks ago comes back, but it isn’t as bad. You make it across seven houses and a street in the escape. You put Terezi down when the coast is clear of any police. However, to be safe the both of you continue to run until you arrive at the front door. No one else is home, so you unlock the door. The both of you fall down next to the fireplace, panting heavily since you ran like your life depended on it. “Ahah, damn that was crazy. You didn’t..have to pick me up ahah.” You look at her with a unappreciative face. “I didn’t know that..you could scale a bunch of seven foot tall fences..in a chase. I was..worried.” Terezi rolls next to you. “I get it..your tall.” You passed her in height six months ago. You being chuckling s little. She tries to get up but instead falls on top of you. Your faces are mere inches away from each other. Your heart starts to beat a little faster. She’s the one to go for the kiss. It’s soft and passionate. You pull her closer, as if you’d let go and she’d disappear. Her hand goes under your shirt in an attempt to take it off. You push her away for a second. “Are you sure that you want to do?” Before you can even finish what you were about to say, she answers “Yes!” That’s that. You take her to your room to do the deed.

Some time later.

You've just lost your virginity to Terezi and vice versa. The two of you lay under the covers, stark naked and drenched in sweat. You take of the condom and throw it in the trash bin on the side of your bed. Your dad will doubt find out, but at least he won’t be mad that you were safe. “Wow, that was amazing. I can’t believe that I was your first.”  Terezi has a sly smile as she says that. Your body is branded with so many bite marks and scratches. She also has some marks, but they can hidden under clothes. “Yeah, I glad that I was able to give it to you.” The two of you share one more make out session before you end it. “I love you John.” Your hearts beats in that strange way away. “Love you too.” It’s time to go to sleep, you lay on your back while Terezi clings onto you. Random object lay scattered around the house, it looks like a strong gust of wind blew in here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pre-me: Premature
> 
> The reason by John had to carry Terezi is because how big fences are in Washington. The can be up to seven feet tall. That and John is using his more physical powers. His psionic powers went haywire during their lovemaking.


End file.
